The Merman
by finn1013
Summary: Pre S-4. A mysterious creature has stolen something of value and only magic can assist.  But the price demanded for their safe return is high, will it be too much for Arthur to pay?  Friendship/bromance. Itsy baby dragon. No slash.  ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: The Merman  
>AUTHOR: finn1013<br>SUMMARY: A mysterious creature has stolen something of value and only magic can assist. But the price demanded for their return is high, will it be too much for Arthur to pay? Friendship/bromance. NO SLASH  
>SPOILERS: nothing much, but may make reference here and there to anything pre Season 4<br>DISCLAIMER: Merlin is not mine, belongs to the BBC  
>CLASSIFICATION: T<br>AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's set between Seasons 3 and 4, so Arthur is Regent and Morgana is no longer at Camelot, in fact I don't think she'll appear at all in this (sorry Mergana shippers, you'll only get bromancey friendship between Arthur and Merlin in this one, possibly with a little angst thrown in for good measure, and maybe some whump if I can manage it).

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><p>In Camelot, truth can be ephemeral, and rumour can reign as fact.<p>

Midway between the Great Seas of Meredor and the Mountains of Isgard, beside the town of Shalford, lies a great saltwater lake. It's said a creature resides in there, a creature that makes its presence felt only once or twice each generation. Whether there's truth in the tale, or whether it's a myth perpetuated by superstitious villagers, no one really knows.

At least, not until now.

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><p>"Merlin, get up, you'll be late again!"<p>

By the impatience in Gaius's tone this wasn't the first time he'd yelled out, but Merlin couldn't seem to open his eyes, Gaius's voice was muffled and seemed to be coming from such a long way away. Merlin didn't move, nothing mattered, he was still on the edge of sleep and ready to drift off again, but then the thin blanket covering him was yanked back and his lethargy receded a little as the chill early morning air prickled his burning hot skin.

"Merlin?" Gaius's hand touched his shoulder, and the physician pushed him over onto his back on his bed. The movement made Merlin's head whirl but the sensation was quite nice, and he started to sink back down into that blissful state of unconsciousness again. Gaius took his jaw between his hands and let out a soft grunt of dismay. "Oh no, Merlin, open your eyes."

He didn't want to, but the command was repeated with more urgency and a hand pressed against his forehead, so Merlin opened his eyes, but it was an effort, everything was, especially breathing. Merlin shivered as he became aware of his surroundings, he automatically tried to sit up, but the movement made him lightheaded, and Gaius seemed to understand, because he helped, and Merlin leant back weakly on a pillow against the wall behind his bed and regarded his mentor through bleary eyes.

Gaius reached out and took one of his hands, quickly unwinding the bandage that had been wrapped almost to the tips of his fingers and thumb, it had been hiding most of his hand the past few days.

Merlin couldn't understand, he tried to stop him, he _was_ going to be late, he fumbled, "Gaius, what? No, I've got to keep them hidden. Arthur can't ..."

"Forget Arthur for now, Merlin. Look at your hands."

"Huh?" Merlin looked, nothing had changed in the past few days, the thin webbing of skin between all his fingers and thumb on each hand was still there. The webbing reached almost to the tips of each finger, stopping at the last joint, and the thin membrane of skin was tinged blue. Merlin was sick of the webbing _and_ having to wear bandages to hide it, and almost wished he'd never seen the stupid book, but it was so enticing, left especially for him. He coughed weakly, he couldn't seem to catch his breath, and he was so very sleepy.

"Merlin, the spell you used that gave you the membrane between your fingers. What else was it meant to do?"

He couldn't concentrate, sitting up and talking was taking so much effort. And he couldn't work out why this was so, he'd been feeling perfectly fine before he'd gone to bed.

Gaius was persistent, his face lined with worry. "Merlin, listen, it's important." Gaius propped him up and made him lean forwards, it seemed to help his breathing a little. "What else was the spell meant to do, Merlin?"

Merlin fingered his neck absently, no, the skin was still nice and smooth. He tried to breathe deeply but he couldn't, he mumbled, "What does it matter? It didn't work."

"Alright." Gaius's eyes followed the movement of his fingers. "Stay there. I'll be back in a minute." He pulled the door to Merlin's room shut behind him.

Merlin wasn't going anywhere, he didn't have enough energy. He sat on his bed, facing the window, idly watching the specs of dust floating in the weak beam of sunlight that was starting to slide across his window. The sun wasn't properly up yet, the light was just beginning to touch the sky. Arthur would be expecting him soon, but he really didn't know if he could even make it to the the door of his room, he felt so oddly weak, even a little dizzy, and both burning hot and freezing. Maybe he was coming down with something.

But he hardly cared anyway, if there was something was wrong with him, the fog in his brain was an insulating him from feeling much concern. The lethargy felt quite pleasant. He didn't move from the edge of the bed, and his breathing was quick and shallow. He opened the unbandaged hand again, eyeing the thin but tough membrane between his fingers. It had been four days since he'd spelled himself and he still hadn't managed to make it go away.

The outer door opened, he heard Gaius talking to someone then it was silent again. Something heavy was dragged across the floor, and another knock, another voice, was it Lancelot?

It was, the door opened and the knight strode in. "Merlin, what have you done?" Merlin regarded him wearily, too exhausted to bother with a greeting. He made no resistance but didn't help either, when Lancelot heaved him up and slung one of Merlin's arms over his shoulder, dragging him down the stairs into the main room.

Gaius was waiting, beside a round bath tub full of water. Merlin looked at it with trepidation, swaying unsteadily against Lancelot, surely Gaius didn't think ...?

Gaius grabbed hold of one of his arms and said to Lancelot, "Now hurry. Don't let the tub fall over, hold it steady."

"What's he done this time?" Lancelot obeyed, leaning over, and Merlin's knees hit the floor.

Gaius managed to sound reluctantly admiring, exasperated and worried all at once. "He's losing the ability to breathe in the air. He's gone and given himself gills."

Merlin lurched back, the shock of that statement almost making him wake up properly. "What? No, Gaius, I haven't, I told you, it didn't work, I don't have gills, look at my neck, my skin's still –"

"Now hold him down!" His protest was ignored, Gaius wasn't listening, he grabbed hold of a fistful of Merlin's hair and forced his head none too gently in the direction of the water.

Merlin struggled but another hand was helping and the effort of resisting was draining all his strength, he had barely a second to take a gasping mouthful of air before his head was thrust into the tub, and he gurgled and choked helplessly. The water was pouring into his mouth, down his throat and into his chest, he gagged and fought feebly against the hands holding him under, but he felt so weak, and his magic wasn't leaping to his defence like it should be, it wasn't going to save him this time, he was drowning ... but then ... he wasn't.

No, he wasn't drowning, not at all.

He stopped his struggles and drew in a deep mouthful of the life-giving liquid, all his concentration focussed on this odd sloshy feeling inside him. His body craved more of this new substance, it was the sweetest thing he'd ever breathed, perfect liquid magic. He opened his eyes, looking into this new world, his face was inches away from the wooden bottom of the tub and he wanted to stay in this new paradise forever.

A hand was still on his back, between his shoulders, but it wasn't pressing down urgently now, just rubbing gently back and forth. He paid it no attention. His skin craved the magic fluid too, he pushed himself into the tub further until the water was edging his shoulders and soaking through his cream-coloured sleep shirt. He lifted his hands into the tub, and opened the palm of the one that wasn't still bandaged. The webbing was a thing of beauty, he stared at it memorised, watching with complete concentration for what felt like hours as the skin slowly lost its blue tinge. He wanted to feel this liquid magic all over him, and he butted his head on the edge of the tub before he realised what he was doing, and it rocked unsteadily for a moment before it steadied on the floor.

He could have stayed there for a lifetime, but all too soon he was being pulled from this piece of heaven back to the world where the air was too thin and insubstantial. He resisted the tug at first, but when another hand dipped into the water and pulled at his shoulder he allowed himself to surface, but the change to air breathing was almost unbearable.

He choked and coughed again, gasping and spitting up water, until he fell to his knees on the hard stone floor, leaning unsteadily on shaking hands. He felt the water dripping from his hair and face and shirt, it grew in an ever-increasing puddle all over the floor. He fingered the trails of liquid darkening the floor, utterly devastated by the waste.

Lancelot was dumfounded, his face was pale with shock. His mouth opened and shut several times before he managed to speak in a stunned whisper, but Merlin was too busy mourning the loss of the water to notice the knight's agitation. "You ... how ... Gaius was right! You have gills, Merlin, I ... I can't believe it."

Merlin blinked slowly, and came back to himself. He could breathe again now, in the air, but he was coming down from the adrenalin rush the water had given him and he felt weak and tired again, although not nearly as bad as before. He rubbed at his neck and looked at his guardian, shaking his head. "Gaius? How did you work that out? I don't understand, I can't feel the gills, I didn't think the spell worked."

Gaius sighed and sat down heavily on the bench beside the table, his posture weary. "Your antics will be the death of me, Merlin. I knew you were mucking around with water and bowls but I thought you were practicing scrying. I should've known better."

He gave Merlin a stern look. "Merlin, the enchantment for webbing almost always is associated with water breathing. It's very advanced magic, but I shouldn't be surprised you can perform that sort of thing by now. After all, the book was left for you, and a lot of the magic in it would be impossible for many to master."

Gaius shook his head. "I've certainly never heard of anyone who's successfully managed water breathing as an enchantment that also allows you to breathe in the air. But because I misjudged your abilities I didn't think of the obvious, until this morning when you were struggling to breathe. You were expecting gills in your neck, weren't you, Merlin?"

"Well, yes." It did seem the obvious way of doing it. Slightly abashed, he tried to explain his logic. "Fish, Gaius, that's how they breathe."

Gaius was exasperated, Merlin didn't even realise he wasn't out of the woods yet. "But you're not a fish, Merlin, and fish can't breathe out of water! You need to think things through before you blindly try them out. Now come here, and let me listen to your chest."

Merlin obeyed, walking over beside him. Gaius pressed an ear against one side of his chest and directed, "Now, take a few deep breaths." Merlin did, and the physician listened and grunted. Then he put his head on the other side of Merlin's chest. "Again." Merlin repeated the exercise and eventually Gaius raised his head.

"My boy, listen and don't interrupt, you don't have much time." He beckoned to Lancelot. "You pay attention too Lancelot, you'll need to help him. Merlin, get out of that wet shirt, and put on your boots, Lancelot's going to have to take you out of Camelot."

They both nodded, and Gaius said, "Merlin, it sounds to me like one side of your chest allows you to breathe normally in the air, the other sounds full of fluid, that'd be where your gills are. So what you've managed to do to yourself means you're able to breathe in the air, and in the water, but you're not going to be able to survive long in one without the other. This isn't completely uncommon in nature, some creatures can breathe in water and in air, although not always at the same time, creatures such as salamanders, mermaids, kelpies or naiads are a few, though they manage it in different ways. Now, when did you perform this enchantment?"

Merlin finished pulling his blue shirt over his head and sat down on the stairs leading up to his room, yanking on his boots. His hair was still dripping but he didn't appear to notice. "Uh, it was four days ago, or nights. The night I got the book, actually."

Gaius shook his head. "By the look of you this morning you should have been in the water yesterday, but that might have just been because you didn't water breathe as soon as you performed the enchantment – you didn't, did you?"

Merlin shook his head. "No, I told you I didn't think it'd worked. I was expecting gills on my neck."

"Well, you may be lucky and you might be able to air breathe for up to a week before you need to spend time in the water, once you've had this first swim, but I wouldn't count on it. Are you starting to feel tired, or weak, or sleepy again?"

Merlin shrugged. "A bit."

The tension in Gaius's voice increased. "Now's not the time to be a martyr, Merlin! Are you getting tired again, or not?"

Lancelot was watching this exchange with fascination bordering on horror, his head moving from one to the other.

Merlin rubbed his forehead. "Um, yeah. I feel like I could crawl into bed and sleep for days, actually, although I do feel better than when you first woke me up." He shot a glance at Gaius and admitted, "And uh, it's getting a bit hard to breathe again."

"Right, I'll try and be quick because you must understand. Whatever we, as humans, take from the air to breathe, or in your case the water as well, you don't have enough in your body. The webbing between your fingers is turning blue again, but it should be pink if your body is working properly. Your lips are still blue Merlin, so are your nails, your skin has a bluish tinge, you're sleepy and breathing's a problem." Merlin managed a hazy blink at this one-colour catalogue of his predicament.

Gaius hadn't finished. "You're also feverish. And I'm sure your magic is compromised too, you won't have the will or the strength to wield it if you don't do something soon. Now you've got to get going. You need to get to the Great Lake of Shalford, you need to swim around a large body of water and it's the closest. It's salt water, but it'll have to do."

"What?"

"You don't have much time, Merlin. You'll need more water than you can get in Camelot."

Merlin protested, "But Gaius, Arthur's expecting me, any time now. And he's going to Shalford today anyway, you know what's happening there! I'll manage, I have to. I can't just go riding off, he's getting really annoyed with me lately."

And it was true, Arthur's temper was as predictable as Uther's mood swings were unpredictable; the extra stress and responsibility heaped on the prince when his father was having one of his less lucid weeks wasn't making Arthur an easy prince to serve at present.

Gaius ignored him in favour of someone with more sense. "Lancelot, he's not going to have the strength to ride alone soon, he won't be able to stay on the horse by himself. Take him on a horse with you. Make sure he stays upright, try and get him to lean forwards slightly as it'll be easier for him to breathe that way."

"But Arthur, he's expecting me, he'll –"

Gaius cut through Merlin's complaint impatiently. "My boy, you're not understanding the seriousness of this! You need to get in water for at least a few hours, right now. Your body needs the water to breathe properly, didn't I just tell you, you're still blue? You are risking your life, Merlin, you don't have much time!"

Merlin gaped, and Gaius took pity on him, lowering his voice. "Merlin, I'll send a guard to Arthur's chambers to say you're ill, I'll keep Arthur out of our rooms if he comes looking for you. Lancelot is going to need to take you to the lake, and my guess is that you're going to need to spend several hours underwater there. You need to swim around a lot to get the water through your body, what you've done here will only go so far."

Lancelot stood up. "I'll look after him, Gaius, don't worry."

Merlin was getting more worried, but not so much about his breathing. "But Lancelot, you know Arthur was going back to the lake today, he might see me!"

Gaius was unsympathetic. "Well stay under the water then, he won't see you there. Now Merlin, I hardly need tell you that you'd better hope there's a counter spell in that book they gave you for that, you really don't want to spend the rest of your life in the water at Shalford at least a day every week. I'll look for one while you're away, but don't even think about trying it without telling me, I want to keep an eye on you." Gaius was stern and Merlin nodded obediently. "Now get going."

Merlin followed Lancelot down the stairs, and into the courtyard. Dawn had broken now, and a few people were out already, mainly servants, but it made Merlin realise it was much later than he first thought.

"Lancelot?" He spoke quietly, and Lancelot threw him a concerned look.

"Are you okay, Merlin?" Merlin suddenly realised Lancelot was also wet, he'd dressed before he'd come to Gaius's chambers, and his the sleeves of his shirt were wet up to both elbows, and there was a damp patch on his shoulder.

"Yeah. I uh, just wanted to say thanks. Arthur's probably going to be annoyed with you when you don't show up this morning, he was expecting you to go with him too, you know that, don't you?"

Lancelot's gaze was steady. "This is far more important, Merlin."

Merlin grinned, and glanced up automatically as they passed by Arthur's window, but then he had the shock of his life, the prince was at his open window and was probably only moments away from seeing them. Merlin's heart raced and he felt an incredible wave of dizziness wash over him, he stumbled and swayed, only staying on his feet thanks to Lancelot's quick reaction.

"Merlin!" Lancelot's exclamation of concern was too loud, the morning was still quiet and Merlin knew without a doubt Arthur would have heard.

He cringed, expecting to hear at any moment Arthur's angry shout demanding to know why he wasn't up there right now delivering his breakfast and getting his gear ready for their trip, but as the seconds passed it seemed he'd been given a reprieve. He leant unsteadily against Lancelot, grateful for his friend's support, his head was starting to spin.

Lancelot took in his pallor and increasing weakness. "By the look of you, we need to hurry." He swung Merlin's arm over his shoulder, and put his own arm around Merlin's waist, holding him up. They stumbled down to the stables, Merlin slumped down on the ground against the wall as Lancelot saddled one of the horses.

"Merlin, can you get up on Shadowmere?" Merlin didn't respond, his eyes were shut, his head lolling against the wall, and Lancelot cursed under his breath. "Merlin!"

Merlin's eyes flew open when his friend slapped him lightly on the cheek, his face confused for a moment. Lancelot didn't waste time, he pulled him upright, helping him clamber unsteadily onto the horse's back. Lancelot climbed up behind him and nudged the horse into a quick walk, picking up the pace as they headed out of the stables.

Lancelot was concerned, Merlin was slumped against him, and not making much of an effort to hold on. His breathing was laboured, Lancelot tightened his arm around his friend's waist as he kicked the horse into a faster gait as they neared the courtyard.

But that was when trouble struck, Lancelot turned automatically when he heard his name being called, only to see a cranky looking prince heading down the main steps at the entrance to the castle, and even from across the courtyard it was clear by the expression on his face and the short sharp strides he was taking, that Arthur was angry.

Merlin's groan of dismay at this turn of events was clearly audible, Arthur was bearing down on them, only yards away. The horse's hooves clattered on the cobblestones as Lancelot slowed the animal down, and then it was Merlin's turn to have his name yelled, the tone a clear command for them to stop.

But Lancelot's hesitation had vanished, he didn't give himself any time to think about the consequences, he twisted the reins and kicked the horse into a gallop, and they flew out through the gates, leaving a furious prince behind.

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><p><em>... continued soon ... :)<em>


	2. Chapter 2

_Four days earlier ..._

It was mid-evening, Merlin was still pottering around the prince's chambers finishing his chores for the day, while Arthur was sitting at his desk going through the tally sheets outlining the costs for repairing some of the older buildings in the town that were in dire need of restoration work.

Arthur hated paperwork, his temper was getting shorter as the pile of paperwork grew, and his mood hadn't improved when Merlin had peered over his shoulder and in a single offhand glance, promptly told him the figures of columns he'd been struggling to balance for the past half hour were simply not working because 37 and 54 didn't actually add up to 92. And his manservant had also been kind enough to point out where he'd made exactly the same error three other times on the very same page, so Arthur hadn't even been able to pass it off as a simple mistake, it actually appeared that he couldn't add up properly.

And it wasn't helping that the said manservant was now humming happily to himself as he cleaned the windows. Arthur glowered at his back and fought down the urge to fling something at him, lately the prince had been coming off second best in that game, as Merlin seemed to have recently developed a sixth sense about that, and Merlin's Arthur-is-going-to-chuck-something-at-me radar was on high alert _especially_ when his back was turned. Arthur didn't find the game quite as satisfying as it once was when he'd failed to get a single strike in almost two weeks, not that he was really counting, because, as Merlin now thought, clearly he couldn't.

So the knock on the door when it came was a welcome distraction to the prince, his mood was sour and heading further downhill rapidly.

At the sound, Merlin dropped his cleaning supplies with far too much enthusiasm for a proper servant, and opened the door to the visitor. "Lord Gavin!"

Lord Gavin had arrived in Camelot earlier that day, and Merlin had been quite curious about him. Arthur remembered him vaguely from when they'd both been much younger, he was several years Arthur's senior and this had been the first time they'd seen each other in about ten years. There was something unusual about him for a noble and naturally Merlin had picked up on it, Arthur knew Merlin couldn't quite work the man out, he'd noticed his manservant giving their visitor quick surreptitious glances when he'd been presented in the throne room earlier that day.

Lord Gavin was certainly well mannered and polite, and Merlin had said he'd asked not to be assigned a servant for the duration of his stay, apparently he didn't need one. He was the nephew to one of the neighbouring kings, Lord Godwyn, which made him a cousin to Princess Elena.

Arthur hadn't forgotten Elena, she'd been interesting and rather unusual, and he could remember her with some fondness now that he didn't actually have to marry her. He'd felt a slight niggle of alarm when Lord Gavin arrived, at first he'd wondered if Gavin's visit was something to do with Elena and marriage again; Arthur was well aware he was more eligible in the marriage market than he'd ever been before now that he was ruling as Regent. However Gavin hadn't mentioned anything in front of the court, and Arthur hoped the man's visit to his chambers wasn't to promote that notion.

Arthur didn't have the time nor the inclination to be very diplomatic about his refusal, he'd marry for Gwen for love when the time came. It made him fidget uncomfortably to think about how close he'd come to marrying the wrong person, something where the consequences would have been felt the rest of his life. And he had Merlin to thank that he hadn't, it had taken him a while to recognise his manservant's role in that decision, Arthur liked to think he would have come to the same conclusion without Merlin's pep talk on destiny and being mad, but when he was honest with himself he knew his manservant had saved him from an irreversible mistake.

Arthur sighed and stretched his legs under the desk, he knew his temper was not the best lately, the responsibilities and obligations of taking over in his father's stead, as well as the worry about his father's erratic mental state were taking their toll. There were so many more demands on his time than he'd ever imagined, some welcome, some not. He was guiltily aware Merlin seemed to bear the brunt of his stress and frustrations, but he couldn't seem to help it, Merlin was the one person he felt he could unwind with and just be himself without any pretence, he could too to an extent with Gwen, but things with Gwen were still new and shiny and he didn't want to tarnish that gloss. Merlin was the person he spent most time with, Merlin knew him the best, it was that simple.

Now Lord Gavin was regarding Merlin in a friendly manner as he stood at the open doorway, Arthur couldn't see his face but he heard the good-humoured tone in his voice. "Is the prince in his chambers? I was hoping to have a word."

Arthur had heard and nodded to Merlin, who opened the door wider. "Of course, please come in."

Lord Gavin entered the room, Merlin closed the door behind him, and Arthur offered him a chair in front of the unlit fire, it was becoming too warm for a fire at night in his chambers. "Wine?"

His guest nodded and Merlin poured two goblets before retreating to the other side of the room. Arthur watched him go out of the corner of his eye, he found it somewhat amusing to watch Merlin when he decided to play the part of the docile servant, Arthur was sure that right now Merlin was attempting to blend into the furniture because he had every intention of eavesdropping on his conversation with Lord Gavin, but the prince didn't actually mind, he found Merlin's insights at times surprisingly useful, not that he planned to let his manservant know that, of course.

He turned to his visitor, sitting down opposite him. "What can I do for you, Lord Gavin?"

Gavin took a sip of his wine. "I wasn't truthful when I said earlier I was merely passing through your kingdom, Prince Arthur. I came especially to see you, or, it would be more accurate to say, to deliver a message to you."

Arthur was curious, but wary. "Yes?"

Gavin glanced across at Merlin. "The message is personal."

Arthur's heart sank, he hoped _personal_ didn't mean what he thought it would. He followed Gavin's gaze, Merlin was busying himself folding and putting away clean clothes, he was re-arranging Arthur's wardrobe now that summer was upon them. Arthur didn't want to send him away, he hadn't told him yet they were going hunting tomorrow, and one thing that was really irritating Arthur lately was Merlin's increasing habit of completely vanishing when Arthur wanted him.

He said, "Merlin has my complete trust, Lord Gavin," and Merlin raised his head, meeting Arthur's eyes from across the room. Then he looked down, Arthur had seen the flash of surprise in them, and it annoyed the prince that he felt an answering dart of something that might be hurt, but wasn't. He added rather curtly, "Whatever you have to say to me, he may hear."

Gavin looked from one to the other, but he didn't seem particularly bothered that Merlin was staying. Instead he was regarding the manservant thoughtfully. Then he shook his head and turned to Arthur. "As you wish. The message I have for you is unusual, Prince Arthur, and if you don't heed it, the safety of your kingdom, and indeed all of Albion, will be in grave peril. I've thought long and hard about how to deliver it to you. And I ask that you keep an open mind, and not interrupt me, until you've heard me out. Then I'll be happy to answer any questions you have."

Arthur's face had darkened at the mention of a threat to Camelot, even as he felt an instant's relief his visitor clearly wasn't here to discuss a marriage of convenience. "Go on."

"Firstly, my uncle, Lord Godwyn, is well aware of the contents of the message I'm about to give you. I have a letter from him to you on this matter." Gavin had been carrying a large satchel, which he'd placed it on the table when he arrived in Arthur's room, now he rose from his chair, unbuckled the satchel and drew a letter from an inner pouch. It was sealed with the insignia of the king. He handed it to Arthur, who checked the seal and then opened it.

"The message merely says to heed the warning you'll give me, Lord Gavin. But you probably know that, anyway."

Gavin smiled as he sat back down. "Call me, Gavin. My uncle didn't dare risk putting too much in writing, Prince Arthur. He trusted me to talk to you instead. For my king knows that I bring a message from the high council of the druid chieftains. And I bring the message to you, but it's not just for you, it's for one other person too."

Arthur was startled, he took a sip of his wine to cover his confusion. In the back of his mind he registered that Merlin had given up the facade of putting away clothes and was standing unmoving, near the dressing screen with a blanket in his arms. He was being fairly obvious about it but Gavin wasn't facing him, so his open curiosity didn't really matter. "Speak plainly, Gavin."

Gavin nodded. "It may be useful for you to know a little more about me, to understand how I was chosen to deliver this message. Our kingdom's attitudes towards magic are more tolerant than Camelot's. I'm engaged to the daughter of a druid chieftain. My uncle is well aware of her background, and indeed, counts her father as a personal friend. It was that, and my position as a Lord and nephew to the king meant I was considered to be someone you may listen to and not immediately dismiss, Prince Arthur."

Arthur's face was inscrutable although he was surprised, but he said politely, "You can drop my title. And I'm listening, carry on."

"The message is complex. The druids have been uneasy about giving it to you, the council was divided on the wisdom, but they could not agree on another way, and they're desperate. The message is two fold. Firstly, the threat you are facing will not be overcome without assistance."

"What threat? We're at peace."

"It won't last, sire. There's trouble at the Great Lake of Shalford."

"We've heard nothing, Gavin."

"You must know the village and the lake, Arthur. You know the lake is quite isolated and the villagers don't welcome strangers. And you've heard nothing because until less than a week ago there was no trouble at all."

Arthur was getting impatient. "What are you saying?"

"There's a creature in the lake, it appears fleetingly every dozen years or so and stirs up a bit of trouble. It's never been considered a threat because it's only been mischievous – changing all the corn stores to potatoes, getting the chickens to lay green eggs for a month, causing the cats to chase the dogs – nothing much."

"That sounds magical, you know our stance on that. Why has Camelot never been informed?"

"Until now the villagers have liked the creature. They've looked upon it as a protector and provider of sorts. When it's appeared in the past it also tells them stories, it's saved children from drowning in the lake, in times of famine it's multiplied their food quantities so no one starves, and it's healed those with illness who've bathed in the lake. But it's turned on the villagers now, and they're afraid."

"What has it done?"

"Arthur, the oldest child from every household in Shalford disappeared one night less than a week ago. No one has seen any sign of any of them since. But it's feared the creature has taken them somewhere, he was sighted in the village that same night. And sire, a message was left on the front step of every house."

He stopped and reached into his jacket pocket, drawing out a smooth grey stone. He passed it to the prince who turned it over. Into it was carved in tiny, cursive script: _He taketh what is mine so his kingdom thus will weep. _

Arthur sat back in the chair, holding the stone up to the light and studying the writing. "This was left at every house? It certainly doesn't appear he's angry with the villagers, but you think that message is directed to me? His kingdom? This creature is taking them because of something he thinks I did, or took?"

"We're not sure, Arthur. You're Regent, it could be something the creature thinks your father has done, in fact the druids believe it is directed at Uther, not you. But the consequences are the same, almost twenty children disappeared without trace one night and haven't been seen since. There are other villagers only a few hours away, we fear what might happen to them too."

"Why have you been so secretive about delivering this message? I understand there's a magical element to it, but I'll need to take a lot of my knights to deal with this threat and search for the children."

"You haven't heard all the message yet, sire. There's a small druid encampment near the town, well hidden, but not far from the lake. The druid children disappeared too, this same night as the children from the village. And the combined might of the chieftains has not been able to recover them, nor find any trace of them. This creature has strong magic, and it retreats into the water when challenged, where we can't follow."

Gavin leaned forwards and placed his half empty goblet on a side table. He said bluntly, "Taking the knights with you will not help, Arthur. We need Lord Emrys."

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><p><em>.<em>


	3. Chapter 3

_Gavin leaned forwards and placed his half empty goblet on a side table. He said bluntly, "Taking the knights with you will not help, Arthur. We need Lord Emrys."_

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><p>Arthur glanced across at Merlin, he'd seen his start of surprise out of the corner of his eye when the name Lord Emrys was mentioned, Merlin obviously had heard of him, but Arthur couldn't remember anyone by that name at all. "Lord Emrys?"<p>

Gavin's face fell at the prince's lack of recognition. He said carefully, "This is of vital importance. Do you know Lord Emrys, or not?"

"Lord Emrys? I know all the nobles at my court and many in the surrounding kingdoms, Gavin. No, I've never heard of this person."

Gavin stood up and walked over to the fireplace and placed his hands on the mantelpiece, his knuckles whitened as he gripped the smooth strip of polished stone. He was quiet for a moment, then he said almost to himself, "It is as Iseldir feared then."

"What?"

"Most of the chieftains thought Lord Emrys would have made himself known to you by now, since you're ruling Camelot."

Arthur stretched his legs out in front of him. "I'm Regent, Gavin. My father is still very much alive."

"But it's prophesised ... but no. You must understand, Arthur, the druids have not sent you this message without deliberating the notion a great deal. Many thought you'd know who he was by now, even if you didn't acknowledge it publicly. But if you say you don't know him yet, and haven't even heard of him, then we're violating Emrys's trust and possibly revealing him to you before he's ready. We hope he'll forgive us for this. But the children ..."

Arthur leant back in his chair. "Gavin, you're going to have to explain yourself better. This is very confusing."

"Where do I start ...?" His eyes were far away, he shook his head. "Please hear me out, sire, I'm afraid this may come as a shock to you."

Arthur nodded impatiently and Gavin continued. "Sire, Lord Emrys is the most powerful warlock who will ever be, though he's yet to come into all he'll be capable of. We've known he's lived in Camelot for several years now, protecting you, but he hides his identity and we don't know who he is. One of our chieftains, Iseldir, has met him, and he didn't want us to contact him but he was the lone voice against it so he had to submit to the high council's decision. All Iseldir would tell us is that he met him once when he was with you."

Gavin was well aware of the sceptical disbelief on Arthur's face. "Yes, Arthur. There is a warlock in Camelot, he's an unseen guardian who watches over you. We know he's only young, we think he's younger than you, but his power has grown enormously over the past few years, we know he's defeated two immortal armies and saved you from other countless magical threats. We expect much from him based on the prophecies, but regardless, many of the chieftains are still in awe of his skill for one so young, he's only on the cusp of what he'll be able to do. The druids hoped he would have told you his identity by now, it's problematic that he hasn't."

Gavin pushed himself off the wall and began to pace up and down the room.

Arthur was sceptical. "Gavin, you're an old family friend so I won't disregard what you're telling me. But ... you think this person has saved me from all those things? It seems very unlikely. And he's a warlock, and a noble? And he's young? All the nobles are much older than me. Could he be a knight?"

"No, you misunderstand me. Lord is a courtesy title we use for him, we don't think he's an actual noble in society. Although it could be possible, little is known of him outside the prophecies. In the druid Book of Gefrégea it's said he hides in the light, which the chieftains agree means he lives in plain sight, they think you probably know him somehow, he's known to you in some way."

Arthur knew Merlin was listening, he'd hardly moved throughout this whole conversation and he'd stopped the pretence of working, all he was doing was holding on to the blanket, face turned away. Arthur called across to him, "Merlin, come here."

His manservant jumped and tried to hide the movement, then almost tripped over the corner of the bed. Arthur sighed. Merlin approached them hesitantly, his eyes lowered. "Yes, sire?"

"You know of this Emrys, don't you?"

Merlin's head flew up and he looked uncomfortable under the combined scrutiny of Arthur and Gavin. "No, I don't, Arthur."

"Oh come on, Merlin, you reacted to the name. You've heard of him."

Merlin was very still, except for his hands, Arthur noticed he was clenching them tightly. Merlin said guardedly, "It's a name prophesied, Gaius might have mentioned it, that's all."

Gavin's voice showed his surprise. "It's part of a prophecy known mainly to druids and magic users. What do you know of it?"

Merlin was silent and Arthur prompted him. "Merlin?"

His manservant did not look pleased with this line of questioning, and seemed to be considering whether he would answer or not. Merlin didn't usually directly disobey him in front of visitors, but Arthur suspected he was close to it this time.

But as Arthur's eyes narrowed, Merlin seemed to lose interest, he ignored Gavin and said directly to Arthur, "I read about it once. Emrys is destined to protect and guide the Once and Future King, that's all I can tell you."

There was silence in the room for a moment, then Gavin said carefully, "Merlin, do you know who the Once and Future King is?"

Merlin stared at him for a long moment, his face unreadable, and Gavin dropped his eyes and lowered his head. Arthur glanced between the two of them, mystified and a little annoyed, then asked again, "Merlin, do you? I know you and Gaius know a lot more about magic than you like to let on, now's not the time to pretend you don't."

Another glance Gavin's way, and then Merlin turned to Arthur. At first Arthur thought he was going to deny it, Merlin even shook his head, but instead he said, his voice matter of fact, "As I'm sure Lord Gavin was going to tell you, the Once and Future King ... is you, Arthur."

"What? Me? What does that even mean?"

Merlin shrugged, and the movement seemed to wake Gavin up. He darted a glance in Merlin's direction, then said hurriedly to Arthur, "Um, can we get to that later? There's more I must tell you."

"Gavin, this is ... a very odd situation."

"It is. And I thank you for being open minded enough to listen so far, perhaps the time prophesised is soon. But I digress."

For a moment Gavin almost seemed ill at ease, but he quickly recovered his court pose and concentrated on Arthur. He said formally, "I have a gift for Lord Emrys from the druid chieftains. The threat emerging from this lake is powerful, combined might of the druid clans can't stop it, and even Emrys may not be able to overcome it without assistance. The chieftains said the gift will help him. I'd like to leave this with you, if you'll agree."

"The combined might of all these magic users can't stop it? But this man you seek, Emrys ... you think he might?"

Gavin nodded and opened the satchel he'd placed on the table and drew out a box that was about the length of his arm and several inches thick. It was intricately carved with symbols and designs Arthur assumed were of some sort of magical significance. "I don't know what it contains, but it has some magic on it that will draw Emrys to it. Sire, the druids have advised that once you touch the box, the magic will activate. Once you release it, it cannot be moved from its position except by Lord Emrys. It's a simple enchantment, but powerful. Although they hoped you'd be able to give it to him directly they enchanted it in case it was taken from me before I reached you. And Iseldir insisted we see to it this way too, in case Emrys wasn't known to you."

"You speak very casually of magic, Gavin." Arthur was not so sure he could ever be the same.

The man smiled. "It's not so hard, and I mean no disrespect sire, but you just need to have an open mind, and a willingness to discover truths for yourself, instead of blindly following what you've always been taught." The prince raised his eyebrows but still looked thoughtful and Gavin added quietly, "Magic itself isn't inherently evil as many here believe Arthur, it's only as good or bad as the person who wields it. I know many people in our kingdom with magic, some of them are refugees from Camelot. They are good people. My uncle welcomes them. He has two magical advisors in his court."

Arthur was somewhat troubled by this conversation, then his jaw tightened and he said directly, "What about you? Do _you_ have magic, Lord Gavin?"

His visitor was startled, then he smiled, amused. "No, not at all, sire. But sometimes I wish I did, it would be a special gift."

"Perhaps." Arthur placed his goblet on the table beside Gavin's drink, the wine was excellent but neither man had taken more than a few mouthfuls.

Gavin held out the box. "Will you take it, Arthur?"

Arthur stood up and walked towards Gavin, but he didn't make a move to take it. He eyed the box, when he looked at it closely it seemed to have a slight golden shimmer that he hadn't noticed at first glance. "To say this is a very unusual message would be an understatement."

"Yes, it is."

"What's in it?"

"I don't know, but it requires magic to open it. All the chieftains would say is that it's something to help Emrys."

"But what if it's not exactly that? I've never heard of this person, never seen him. What if it _is_ something for him, but it's not to help us, but to hinder us? It could be a weapon."

Gavin traced the carvings on the box with his fingers and said patiently, "The druids know you have a destiny, and it's allied to Lord Emrys, as Merlin has said." His eyes skimmed across the room, at Merlin, who wasn't looking their way. "Emrys isn't your enemy, Arthur, he's proven it time and time again, and one day you'll realise that. You can verify the information I've told you about the prophecies independently, there is much written about you and him. They have suggested asking Geoffrey of Monmouth or your court physician, Gaius for detail about what is prophesised. There are ancient texts that speak of it. The information won't be easily available, but they'll know where to look."

"I'll do that." Arthur gave his manservant's back a hard stare, Merlin had retreated across the room, he was busying himself rearranging the clothes in Arthur's wardrobe. Why had Merlin never mentioned he'd heard of this prophecy, what did Once and Future King mean, and was he, Arthur, really this person? Why did Merlin think he was him? Gavin hadn't contradicted it either.

Arthur was well aware of his shortcomings regarding his lack of magical knowledge, and it was a deficiency that was gradually becoming more frustrating. As Regent, how could he be expected to properly deal with magical threats if he didn't have the first idea about magic? His father did, he'd known what the Cup of Life could do, he'd understood that poultices could be magical, he'd known about dragonlords and their abilities, but Arthur's magical education was almost non-existent, and he needed to _know, _it was duty and responsibility to be informed of anything that could affect his kingdom_._

This prophecy sounded important, if Merlin knew about it why hadn't he said so? As his manservant, he expected Merlin to bring a matter like this to his attention, it was his duty. He was certainly going to find out more about it, if Merlin knew about then Arthur had a pretty good idea that Gaius would have been the source of at least some of his information, and Gaius too probably knew that he, Arthur was thought to be this _King_.

Arthur's irritation was growing and he almost forgot all about Gavin in the room until he realised the man was speaking again.

"Arthur, will you take it?" Gavin was holding the box out to him.

Arthur ran a hand through his hair, he'd take the box of course but he needed some time to think all this, and the implications through. It could be life-changing, but regardless apparently he was meant to accept this magical protector or helper or whoever he was.

Arthur held out his hands and Gavin gave it to him, Arthur was a little surprised as a small jolt travelled up his hands as soon as he touched it. But it wasn't unpleasant, it actually made him feel a little calmer, and his annoyance decreased markedly. He turned it over in his hands, looking at the carvings and symbols on it. The box was light, it felt empty, but that could be because it was magically enchanted. There could be anything at all in it. He said to Gavin, "Do you really think this'll work? If I put it down now, on the table, then the box will stay there until this Emrys wants it?"

"Try it, Arthur."

Arthur glanced around his chambers, wondering where to leave it, part of him barely able to believe he was willingly taking a magical object to leave in his room for some _warlock_ to collect. Arthur noticed that Merlin's head was still turned away but Arthur was sure he was watching. Merlin had cleared his desk earlier, the reports Arthur had been working on were neatly piled to one side, leaving part of the desk free.

Arthur put the box down near one corner. "There, Gavin. So you think it'll stay here now?"

Gavin was still standing near the fireplace. "Try and pick it up, Arthur."

Arthur tried, he couldn't, there seemed to be a barrier surrounding it that he couldn't breach. Despite Gavin saying that would happen, he was a little surprised, but he shrugged, that could be because he'd been the one to put it down. Arthur peered over at Merlin, he expected that he'd be watching this evidence of magic with the same curiosity he showed to everything, but no, his back was firmly turned, and Arthur was a little surprised, his manservant's curiosity usually knew no bounds, but this time he was ignoring the proceedings right in front of him.

Arthur wasn't sure if his lack of curiosity was real or feigned. He called across to him, "Merlin, come and test this, see if you can pick the box up off the table."

Merlin turned around reluctantly, looking at Arthur uncertainly. "Um ..."

Arthur was impatient. "Come on. You've never seemed particularly bothered by magic before. It's not going to hurt you."

Merlin stared at him for a moment longer then turned his back on them, slowly putting down a pile of clean linen. He approached the box cautiously, like it was going to bite him, and put his hands out carefully, and it didn't work for him either, his hands stopped where Arthur's did, it seemed there was a magical barrier in place that neither of them could get through. He took a step back and folded his arms, and said lightly, "Guess it's working then."

Gavin had approached them, and he seemed to come to a decision. He darted a quick look at Merlin. "There's one more thing Emrys may need, Prince Arthur. If you really don't know him, then he may wish to disguise himself if he needs to talk to you. Iseldir insisted I take this with me, just in case." He drew one last item out of the satchel, it was a long dark blue robe, simple but finely woven, with a hood. "I'll leave this with the box. Emrys will take it if he needs it."

Arthur nodded and Gavin said, "Now I must retire. It's been a long journey. Arthur, could I ask your manservant to show me the way back to my room? It's late and I don't know if I'll find my way back easily at night."

Arthur gave the request a moment's consideration and then nodded. "Of course. Merlin, we were to go hunting in the morning, but now we'll need to make a trip to Shalford instead, have a look at the village and the lake and see what we can find out. I'll need you to wake me just after dawn, and after you see Gavin to his room, get a message to Lancelot and Gwaine that they'll be coming with us. That's hardly a fighting force but apparently it won't matter. I'll see how my father is in the morning before I let him know what we're doing."

* * *

><p>Gavin wasn't really surprised when his door opened later that night. He'd locked it of course, but the visitor he was expecting would have no need of a key. He'd left a candle burning on the desk in the room he'd been assigned, and it was enough to see the figure just inside the doorway, the man was dressed in the dark blue robe he'd left with the box, and even though the figure faced in the direction of the light, all he could see of his face was a blurred mass of features he couldn't seem to focus on.<p>

The man spoke, his voice deep and precise and unfamiliar. "Consider your message delivered, Lord Gavin. Pass on my thanks to the druids for their gift." His tone cooled. "But tell them they should have found another way to deliver it. You've jeopardised my position in Camelot, the prince was not yet meant to learn of my existence."

Gavin had no time to respond, because the man's eyes glowed, and in a flurry of wind he disappeared from the chambers. The wind extinguished the candle and the room plunged into darkness.

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><p><em>AN: The Book of __Gefrégea: Book of __Knowledge. _

_That chapter was a little slow, hope you are not losing interest ... things will get more complicated down the track, I have a feeling this fic is going to be reasonably long again. Thanks to those who reviewed as I'm not sure how well this fic is being received compared to my other one._

_Sorry for the long wait for the update, and it will probably be 2 weeks before the next one too, excuses are on my profile if you really want to know ... :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Sorry for the long break between updates, I was overseas for a while and had no time to write, then I was too lazy to start again and caught up on reading instead. However back to regular updates again now. And thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'm sorry if I didn't get around to responding to you, but you'd probably rather an update anyway, right? :)_

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><p>Merlin hadn't been able to resist temptation, about an hour after Gavin had taken his leave of the prince he'd snuck back into Arthur's room to collect his gift. Arthur was in bed, and whether he was asleep or not was irrelevant because Merlin pushed a simple sleeping enchantment into the room before he opened the door, he wasn't going to risk being caught.<p>

He'd taken the entire box with him, wrapping it in the robe so it looked like he was holding nothing but linen, and making his way back noiselessly to his room. He hadn't told Gaius anything, and his mentor was fast asleep when he left and when he'd returned.

Merlin had wondered about the contents of the box, and thought it'd contain a powerful magical object to assist him in this fight with the creature, maybe something like the staff of the sidhe. But it hadn't been what he expected, it was so much better, and he stayed up most of the night with his prize.

It was a book, a beautiful, detailed text on magic, containing instructions on powerful spells and enchantments that weren't in the book Gaius had given him. It was ancient, written in a similar language to the book he had and the language he used when performing magic, but it wasn't exactly the same, it used words influenced by an old Greek language, he recognised some of the similarities in the word style that he used to call upon Kilgharrah.

There was also a smattering of words that he recognised as being written in Ogham, which was an old Irish language he'd first encountered three years ago in one of Gaius's forbidden manuscripts; at the time he'd been surprised by his instinctive ease in reading it, but now it made sense if it was also a language of old magic, and, if he wasn't greatly mistaken, a few phases were written in some of the other Goidelic languages.

And the spells ... there was teleporting – he'd tried that one straight away, firstly with objects, and then he decided to try it out properly and let Gavin know his message had been received, he certainly didn't want him dropping any more hints to Arthur about Emrys and their shared destiny.

He'd discovered teleporting was so much simpler than he'd thought as long as he went to a location he already knew well, all he had to do was picture the place where he wanted to go in his mind before he travelled there, and push his senses out so he could almost _see_ it before speaking the incantation. He wondered now why he'd been impressed with Morgause's vanishing with Morgana in the throne room long ago, it was so easy!

There was so much more he could barely wait to try! Flying (not to be tried inside), or invisibility (combine it with a repelling enchantment if you were in a crowd) or speaking with animals (it suggested trying dogs or horses at first since they were the most receptive to interaction with humans and accepting of their commands), or accelerated growth (which was only meant to be used on seeds in time of famine and wasn't actually for human use at all as Merlin had first thought), or scrying (try it first on someone you have a strong connection with, and use only an inch of water in a large flat bowl, learners should stir in three leaves of angelica to still the water) and more.

There were two complete chapters he knew Gaius would like to see, they were all about healing magic. Not terribly interesting, but still, very very useful, if he could get the enchantments to work. And he wasn't sure if he'd be able to master those skills, some of the incantations were tongue-twisters, and he didn't seem to know instinctively what to emphasise in the incantations as he did with other spells, the rhythm and flow felt wrong when he tried them in his mind, not to mention they'd not exactly be easy to practice.

And then over half way through the book there was a section on water magic, he reached the spell he knew he had to try if he wanted to find this creature: human water breathing.

He knew he wouldn't have long to master that enchantment, Arthur would want to ride to the village beside the Great Lake of Shalford in the morning and it was already well after midnight. The spell seemed complicated but logical, it was meant to give the caster the ability to breathe both in the air and under water, although it didn't actually state how long you could breathe in the water. He hoped it lasted for at least a day, otherwise it may not be very useful, as it'd take half a day to get there.

He set himself up properly, creeping around the chamber to fill a large bucket with water, since he guessed he'd need to test it by breathing in water if it worked. He put the bucket down carefully on the small chest of drawers in his room and opened the text to the correct page, skimming through the cursive script again.

He was dressed in his sleep shirt so he wouldn't need to remove his neckerchief when the gills appeared; he placed his hands against the side of his neck and spoke precisely but quietly, not wanting to wake Gaius. _"Inc mann onc fisc, gebleote innan úplyft and lagustréam."_

His eyes glowed and he felt a strange tingle in his fingers that ran up his shoulders and down his torso, then it stopped. He took a careful breath of air, wondering if he should stick his head in the bowl of water, but he didn't, because he didn't feel any different, his breathing still felt normal, and he had no inclination to try to breathe in water. Hadn't it worked? Then he looked at his hands properly and winced.

Perhaps he shouldn't have tried it out, there was a fine webbing between each of his fingers and his thumb, probably to help him swim faster in the water. He frowned, the book hadn't mentioned that side-effect, should he have known that'd happen? He checked his toes, no changes there. And definitely no gills either, his neck was still smooth, just a faint hint of stubble near the top where he needed to shave, but nothing else.

He sighed. Since the gills hadn't formed then clearly this spell was obviously more difficult than it seemed. He skimmed through the text again, should he have nudged his magic with the emphasis on _inc_ instead of_ gebleote_? No, he was sure he had it right, but he'd better not try it again, he had to wait for the webbing between his fingers to wear off first, he couldn't risk trying the enchantment again with them, it might make them worse, he wondered if it was possible to get flippers if he over-spelled himself.

He huffed in annoyance, he had to catch a few hours sleep, so after that he wouldn't have time to do anything much except try and disguise his hands and get ready for the trip to the Shalford.

* * *

><p>Merlin's hands were bandaged up to the last joint on his fingers to hide the webbing, Arthur had accepted his explanation that he'd burnt himself when he'd knocked over one of Gaius's concoctions and didn't ask any further questions.<p>

The ride to Shalford wasn't a long one, it was a little over half a day's journey from Camelot. Other than Merlin, Arthur had taken only Gwaine and Lancelot with him although Gavin had ridden out with them too, as he'd planned to continue on to the druid settlement near the lake. The prince was in a grim mood, he'd told Uther where they were going but not why; the king seemed to be having one of his better days but he was in no fit state to rule any longer, and Arthur never spoke with his father about any trouble in the realm, the king had long since lost interest in the the affairs of the kingdom.

But as they left Camelot further behind, Merlin was pleased to see the tightness ease on Arthur's face, despite the situation they were about to deal with, the comforting familiarity of fresh air and a foe to fight that wasn't paperwork seemed to settle the prince down.

They visited the village of Shalford first, but were unable to obtain any more useful information on what had happened. Other than leaving an engraved rock on each doorstep, there'd been trails of sand everywhere throughout the village, which reinforced the belief that the lake creature was responsible for the children's disappearances.

The village was located above the lake on a headland, and the track leading down to the lake was steep and twisting. They left the horses at the village and walked the short distance down in a single file, Arthur first, followed by Merlin, Lancelot, Gavin then Gwaine. Merlin was wary of Gavin's presence, if the man was at all suspicious of his identity as Emrys, then it would certainly make it more difficult to perform any magic if the need arose.

As they descended towards the lake, Merlin found himself smoothing his hand over the dark pebble in his pocket. One of the villagers had given him the stone that had been left on her doorstep, admitting she wasn't able to read the words carved into it. Merlin had looked into the woman's large blue eyes, filled with pain at the loss of her child, and promised himself he'd do whatever he could to give her closure.

Now Merlin's fingers traced the words carved into the stone, _He taketh what is mine so his kingdom thus will weep. _He could sense the lingering magic used to create the message, and the way the magic had been executed spoke to him of a magical creature, of something that wasn't quite human with human thought patterns. He wondered again about the meaning of the words; he didn't believe the creature was angered by Arthur's actions, so what had Uther taken from the creature that had caused him to react in this way?

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realise the prince had stopped until he bumped right into him, knocking his head on Arthur's shoulder. He rubbed his cheek, the prince's chainmail had pinched his skin. Arthur gave him an exasperated look and nudged him away, an elbow digging into Merlin's ribs. "Having a sleep, Merlin?"

"I was thinking."

The response was automatic. "How is that possible?"

Merlin ignored the dig. "What do you think the words mean?" He held up the stone.

"I don't know," Arthur admitted. "But if the creature is around then we may find out, it may be our only way of finding these children."

They continued around a bend, then trees stopped suddenly, and there before them was the Great Lake of Shalford. It was a huge expanse of clear blue water, and it was tidal, as it was fed by the Great Seas of Meredor. The lake was still, and the tang of salt, sand and heat was sharp in the air. The sun was at its zenith, and Merlin scratched at his bandaged hands, they were hot and sticky and the webbing itched.

None of the villagers had come down to the lake with them, but they'd said the creature could often be seen not far from the boat ramp, near the wooden table where the villagers cleaned their fish. Right now the expanse of beach was empty save for a few gulls fighting over scraps near the boat ramp.

Gwaine pushed past them and stopped beside a rocky outcrop near the table, leaning back against a large rock and taking a swig from his canteen. Merlin followed, his feet crunched over stones, there were thousands of pebbles surrounding the outcrop in varying shapes and sizes, all worn smooth by time and the ebb and flow of water, the stones as smooth as the ones used to carve the messages into. Merlin picked one up, and threw it across to the prince. "Arthur, this beach could be the source of the pebbles used to leave the messages."

The prince glanced down and nodded. Merlin dropped his pack beside Gwaine and walked down to the water's edge, where the pebbles gradually gave way to sand. He crouched down and dipped his hands in the water, pushing his sleeves up and splashing the water over his arms and face. It soaked his bandages but he was too hot to care. He stared out at the lake, there was no movement anywhere, no sign of the creature.

He looked up, Gavin was watching him, and Merlin glanced away uneasily. He was curious about Gavin because of his contact with the druids, and in other circumstances he'd have liked to have spoken with him further, but Merlin had been doing his best to avoid him, as he was uncomfortably aware that Gavin seemed far too interested in him given their respective positions, and Merlin was nervous that the man's interest indicated he may suspect that he was Emrys.

Lancelot had followed Arthur across the sandy beach, both the knights were studying footprints in the sand above the high tide mark, but neither seemed very interested in what they'd found, there were simply too many tracks as until recently this location had been part and parcel of everyday life.

"Well there's no sign of the children or the creature, and we can't tell if they were taken this way at all." Arthur pushed strands of sweaty hair off his forehead and accepted the canteen of water that Merlin passed across to him. "We could take the horses down that way later, if we have to." He pointed further around the lake where the slope of the land was more forgiving, and the trees less wooded. "The villagers said there's another path that comes out where the sand juts out."

Merlin replaced the cap on his water bottle. "What do you want to do, Arthur?"

The prince considered it. There were prepared for an overnight visit. They could split up and walk around the edge of the lake to try and find the creature, but by the size of the expanse of water this would take several hours. Or they could stay where they were, after all, the area leading up to the village was where they'd been told the creature more often appeared.

Gwaine spoke up from his rocky perch, he'd managed to find a spot in the shade under the outcrop and was swinging a leg lazily back and forth. "We could go for a swim. Might bring the creature to us."

Arthur gave him a look that clearly expressed his displeasure with that idea, but Gwaine wasn't cowed. "Come on princess, it's hot enough. Gwen wouldn't be so interested in you if she was downwind from you right now."

Merlin didn't bother to hide a grin at this but unfortunately he was close enough to Arthur to get thumped for Gwaine's comment. "Hey, I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't have to, Merlin. You smiled."

Merlin grumbled at that but Gwaine hadn't finished. "Then maybe we should go fishing, catch some lunch."

"No." The prince was blunt.

Gwaine opened his mouth for another retort but Merlin forestalled him, his magical senses alerted, pointing up the beach. "What's that?"

They all looked, sand was beginning to swirl in the air, gentle gusts spinning around, and as they watched, the breeze began to pick up speed, increasing until within minutes it was a huge whirlwind of sand and other debris stretching several yards into the sky. Merlin was at Arthur's side in an instant, the others closing ranks behind them. The prince put his hand up to his eyes, squinting and blinking furiously to clear them of grit in the air.

But then, just as Arthur was about to give the command to fall back, the wind stopped, the air cleared, and not far from them, in place of the mini tornado, stood figures that could only have been conjured by magic.

Arthur counted, there were close to thirty of them, creatures that were vaguely human in shape and size, and appeared to be made of sand and seaweed and other plant remnants. Their eyes were dark and shiny, like the small black pebbles on the beach. They were all holding weapons, one held a golden trident, some held harpoons, several held spears, and others had rusty swords. They stood, amassed in a row in front of the lake, not making any move to strike, yet by their stance they were clearly primed for battle, and Arthur knew it was only a matter of time before the attack started.

And for them to try and fight these creatures would be suicide, they were vastly outnumbered.

Arthur spared a glance Gavin's way. "You spoke of _a _creature, Gavin, as in _singular_."

But Gavin shook his head, he was eyeing the creatures with horrified surprise. "This isn't what they told me about, sire. There was only one, and it's nothing like this. These things are something else."

Gwaine was ready to offer his opinion of the situation. "Arthur, we should fall back now, there's too many of them."

The prince was forced to agree, but the creatures were already beginning to move forwards, sand trickling from their weapons where their hands gripped them. Arthur took a step backwards and thrust out one arm, pushing at Merlin's chest. Merlin hadn't moved, he was just standing there like an idiot, his head tipped to the side staring at the creatures, absently scratching at the bandages covering his hands.

"Move it, Merlin!" The push had little effect, Arthur hissed in his ear and seized his arm, giving him a none too gentle shove backwards, away from the lake and towards the path that led to the village.

He turned back to the creatures, switching his sword from one hand to the other, but moments later out of the corner of his eye, he saw Merlin edging around him again. Arthur felt a shaft of fear dart through him and knew he couldn't afford the distraction, Merlin was too reckless for his own good, why couldn't he just do as he'd been told _for once_. Merlin had no weapon to defend himself with, the prince had been meaning to bring a spare sword that he'd make his servant take in battle, but he hadn't bothered today, he'd not been expecting a physical fight, and the chainmail Arthur had on had been worn mainly to reassure the villagers that Camelot would take care of them.

The creatures were slowly advancing on them, their sandy faces blank of emotion and their weapons at ready. Arthur grabbed onto Merlin again and shoved roughly, anger masking his desperation, "Do as I say! There's too many and I can't protect you properly, Merlin, get back to the village, do it now!"

He didn't see if he'd been obeyed this time, because at some invisible signal the slow forward march of the creatures disappeared, their speed picked up and they were on them too quickly, and the clang as the first one's trident met the prince's sword seemed to be the signal for the others to join the battle.

The battle was fierce, the creatures weren't well versed in fighting but their numbers made up for their lack of skill. Arthur took a limb off his first opponent within seconds, his sword veering cleanly through the creature's weapon arm, and the golden trident was sent spinning into the ground. But the creature wasn't stopped, he looked at the prince, his black pebble eyes gleaming, and Arthur was horrified to see another limb sprouting from where the severed arm had been cut. He swung again, cutting off the creature's head, and this time it did not rise.

"Their heads, cut off their heads!" Arthur yelled and wiped at his eyes, trying to clear them, sand was swirling in the air again, making visibility difficult. There was another clang of weapons behind him, Lancelot and Gwaine were fighting back to back, each with two opponents. He looked frantically for Merlin, but he couldn't see him, he felt cold, hard dread grip his heart, the last he'd seen of Merlin he'd been right behind him but now he was nowhere to be seen, and he knew Merlin well enough to be sure his command for him to leave would have been ignored. He looked around frantically, yelling into the confusion, "Pull back, now! Get back to the track to the village, they mightn't follow us there."

He fought through the swirls of choking sand, taking down another three opponents in quick succession. Out of the haze he saw Gavin, and heard a yelp from him as a spear grazed his arm, but Arthur only spared him a glance, there was no time for anything else, they couldn't hold off much longer.

Then he saw Merlin, he was several yards away, he'd found a spare sword from somewhere and was battling three of the creatures, his back to Arthur. Arthur jumped out of the way of the two he was dealing with, dodging a sword thrust and raced over, heart pounding, to help his friend, but in the few seconds he'd looked away, Merlin had inexplicably managed chop the heads of all three creatures and they lay unmoving on the sand.

But his manservant was no warrior and had no sense of self-preservation, he bent down to poke and prod at the head of one of the fallen creatures, dropping the sword and sticking his fingers through the sandy surface, and Arthur knew with a sick certainty he couldn't get there quick enough as another creature suddenly appeared out of the haze, rising a harpoon to throw at Merlin.

"No!" The words were roared from his mouth and Merlin turned startled, looking straight at him, although how he'd heard Arthur over the noise of the wind and the battle Arthur had no idea. But Merlin was still facing the wrong way and hadn't seen what was behind him, it was happening too quickly yet at the same time Arthur felt like he was watching his life shatter in slow motion, as the creature raised the harpoon, ready to drive it into Merlin's unprotected back.

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><p><em>Translation: "Inc mann onc fisc, gebleote innan úplyft and lagustréam." BOTH MAN AND FISH, BREATHE IN AIR AND WATER.<em>


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Wasn't 4.04 something else? I know this chapter is late again but I was distracted with the other fic I'm working on. This one is not angsty ... yet. :-) I've written most of the next few chapters already, they just need a bit of tidying before they can be posted. Hope you like it ..._

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><p>Arthur couldn't watch but he couldn't turn away.<p>

The raw scream of horror was clawing its way out of the prince's throat, but before it could be released Merlin turned and glanced up to the heavens in what must have been a premonition of what was to come, because in the next instant, they were all blown over by the strongest gust of wind Arthur had ever seen. It whirled like a hurricane, lifting them off their feet and hurling them all in the direction of the lake. Sand flew everywhere, and Arthur couldn't see anything more than a hand span in front of him.

Arthur landed on his hard on his stomach, his elbows digging into the sand, spitting out a mouthful of grit and shouting Merlin's name. He didn't care if he sounded desperate, because he was, and he was too panicked to pretend otherwise, because he might have just seen Merlin's life end. The harpoon had been too close to miss.

Sand was in Arthur's eyes, he could taste it in his mouth, and Merlin wasn't answering, and Arthur hoped like hell it was because he couldn't hear a thing over the gusts of wind tearing around them and not because he was lying on the ground with a harpoon in his back.

Arthur tried to stand but he couldn't, the wind pushed him to his knees again, he struggled, and then, just as suddenly as the wind had arrived, it ceased and stilled. Arthur wiped the grit out of his eyes, but before the sand and dirt in the air had time to settle, the skies opened and they were all soaked to the skin as the rain barrelled down in great sleeting sheets as the heavens sent a year's worth in a day. But then, after a minute, it too stopped, and the clouds vanished as quickly as they'd come. The sun reappeared.

Arthur ran a sandy hand through his hair and wiped the moisture from his face. They were alone again, the creatures no more than soggy clumps of seaweed. He caught sight of Lancelot and Gwaine straight away, and Gavin wasn't too far away either, the man was holding his arm gingerly and peering at something behind the prince.

Arthur spun around, and realised he must have become disorientated in the wind and rain, because now as he set eyes on Merlin, he discovered his manservant was in the opposite direction to where Arthur thought he'd last seen him. He was unharmed. Merlin was holding on a harpoon, and wandering with no particular hurry to prod at the lumps of seaweed clustered around the edge of the water, stopping every now and then to squat down and poke at something.

Arthur watched for a moment, then cleared his throat and called out to him, Merlin looked up and his face broke into a grin, he stood up and jogged across the sand to Arthur, pushing his dripping hair out of his eyes.

"Arthur, are you alright?"

The prince was taken aback, that had been what he'd been going to ask, and he nodded, only then registering that Merlin's eyes were flicking over him, he seemed to be checking for himself that the prince was telling the truth. It appeared his manservant was satisfied, and Arthur blurted out, "The wind and rain, it got rid of the sand people, it wasn't natural, do you think that was Emrys?"

Merlin darted a quick glance around him, none of the knights were within hearing distance. "I don't know, Arthur. Just because you know about him now doesn't suddenly mean every little thing is his doing. The weather here is pretty unusual, even the villagers told us that." His voice had the tiniest edge of irritation to it that Arthur caught only because he knew him so well.

He frowned. "So you don't think it was Emrys doing this?"

Merlin shrugged. "No, probably not. That chainmail must be heavy, it's completely full of sand and you're soaked. Do you want me to help you take it off? I'll wash it out in the lake."

It was heavy. Arthur allowed the fastenings to be unbuckled, Lancelot and Gwaine did the same. Other than a minor wound to Gavin's arm, no one seemed to be injured.

Merlin washed the chainmail out and dumped it further up the beach, on the rocks away from the sand. He wandered back down to the water's edge and exchanged a few quiet words with Lancelot, then began combing through the lumps of seaweed again, one of the remnants of the creatures.

Out of all of them, only Gavin seemed disturbed by what had happened. He was still looking around in shocked silence, his eyes constantly returning to Merlin. Arthur thought about asking Gavin if he thought the wind and rain was magical, after all, Gavin seemed to have more experience with that sort of thing than Merlin did. But as that thought crossed the prince's mind, Gavin strode off, there was something golden glinting in the water that had caught the man's eye.

Arthur watched as Gavin peeled off his boots and waded into the lake, almost up to his knees, bending down and picking up a golden trident encrusted with barnacles, one of the weapons left over from the creatures. As he picked it up, not far away the smooth surface of the lake seemed to ripple, Gavin let out a shout and fell over with a splash in the water, like he'd been grabbed around the ankles.

He dropped the trident and backed hurriedly out of the water, stumbling in his haste. And they all stopped, as something else was appearing out of the surface of the lake.

It was almost man, but he wasn't human, his skin was pale and tinged with the faintest shade of green, and as he came closer to to the edge of the water they saw that from the waist down he was shaped like a fish, with a long tail and scales that sparkled in a kaleidoscope of colours under the sun's caress. He appeared ageless, his face was unlined and smooth, and his hair was luscious and green tinged and dark, twisting in tight curls that brushed the top of his lean yet powerful shoulders.

"A merman," Merlin breathed, clearly fascinated. He was picking at one of the bandages covering his hand, and he took a step towards the creature, but Arthur grabbed his arm and yanked him back sharply.

"You've come at last, my prince." The merman's green eyes glittered. He moved closer to the edge of the water and Arthur made Merlin take another step back, nudging him in the direction of Gwaine and Lancelot who were moving up behind them, their swords drawn.

"Were those creatures your doing?" Arthur kept a hand on the hilt of his sword and gestured around him at the clumps of seaweed and damp sand, all that was left of the sand creatures.

"Of course." The merman paused near the shore, there was a slight shimmer in the air and his body changed, and instead of the tail of the fish he was as a human man, bare-chested and clad in a pair of dripping wet black breeches that reached his ankles. The water splashed around his bare feet and he stopped several yards away from them. Arthur raised the tip of his sword.

The merman was thoughtful. "They were but a warning to you, a small display of my power. And that was an ... _interesting_ ... way of defeating them."

Did he mean the rain and wind? _Was_ it magical, after all? Arthur decided to think about that later, and pressed his main concern. "What about the children? Did you take them?"

The merman smiled, and it wasn't friendly. "You know the answer to that, my prince."

"Where are they?" Arthur's voice was hard and he took a step forwards. The water lapped at his boots.

"They're safe for now. All of them. Safe under the lake, in their new home with me."

Arthur spun his sword, aiming it at the merman. "You killed them! Why would you do that? I was told the villagers trusted you!"

"No, my prince, they're not dead." The merman put a hand up and Arthur was pushed back by an invisible force. "But whether they continue to live or not is up to you. And you want to know _why_ I did this? It is no more than what your father did to me."

The merman paused expectantly and Arthur obliged him. "Well, what is it you're accusing him of?"

The merman's mouth twisted. "I wanted to make your father pay for what he'd done to me. He took my daughter, my only daughter, he executed her. He made the Feast of St Valentine's festival about his own hatred of magical beings. And to repay him, I planned to take his son, you."

Merlin butted in. "You're not taking him!"

The merman turned, his eyes flashing a warning. "You're right, I won't, because I've thought of something so much better."

Arthur nudged Merlin backwards again, flicking a glance Gwaine's way that clearly requested Merlin-grabbing-services. Arthur turned back to the merman. "And what is that?"

"I've heard all about your maddened king and he's no longer worthy of my revenge. So my prince, it will be _you_ who will feel the pain I feel. Do you want to save these children, poor little souls?"

"Of course I do." Arthur didn't hide his anger and disgust.

"Then you will pay my price. For I want what is precious to you, as my daughter was to me."

Arthur was getting impatient. Gold and jewels were precious, although he couldn't see why a creature who lived in water would want them. In his experience, revenge was so often a driving force so often soothed by the promise of money and riches. But the merman was mistaken if he thought it would cause pain for Arthur to part with such items in order to save lives.

"I'm sorry if your daughter was killed, I am. But murdering innocent children won't bring her back. Now tell me what you want so the children can be returned safely."

The merman wouldn't be hurried, he seemed to be enjoying the conversation. "But you don't understand _all_ the consequences yet my prince, should you refuse my request. For if you don't heed my words, not only will these children die, but so will your kingdom. For my sand people were but a small display of my power, I wanted to see what magic you had available to counter them, and counter them you did."

"I did? With magic? So you're telling me this was a _test_?" Arthur knew he shouldn't be surprised, Merlin was wrong, the storm _was_ magical. He shot a quick glance at his backwards at manservant who was standing obediently with Gwaine's hand on his arm, and was surprised at the expression of dark concentration on his face. Then Merlin blinked and he was once again the friend Arthur knew.

The merman smiled maliciously. "Yes, it was a test. And of course you received magical assistance to overcome them, but that magic was nothing, nothing at all. It was weak and pitiful, barely touching the earth, nothing but a light breeze. Yet it had to be done, I had to test your capabilities, in light of what I will ask of you."

He spread his hands out wide, apparently enjoying the confusion and irritation on Arthur's face. "My prince, if you do not do what I ask, then my sand people will march in their thousands from this lake and crush your kingdom, such is my command of magic. Do not doubt I can do that."

Arthur's hand tightened on his sword instinctively and the merman's smile widened as he tossed his head, his hair a shining mass of curls that glistened wetly in the sun.

"Then tell me what you want."

"My prince, I must apologise for my confusing explanation, I have been remiss. You want to know my price. It's simple, I want what you need the most. For these children, and your kingdom, you will give me one thing. You will hand me your magician. I want Emrys."

The merman's eyes glittered green, enjoying the shock on Arthur's face. "I have waited for a long time, and I will not hurry you. You have seven days to return with him, Prince Arthur." The merman's face changed, becoming almost kindly, Arthur eyed the sudden personality transformation with increased wariness.

"Now before you return to Camelot, my prince, to ponder my request, I will give you something your father has sought for many years as an expression of my good faith. It is a gift worthy of a prince, of a kingdom even. And it will show that I am a being of honour. Honour that means if you do as I ask, then I will keep my word to you about not harming your kingdom, and returning these children."

"This doesn't make sense. Why do you want Emrys?" Arthur didn't bother to mask the frustration in his voice, he could barely believe he was trying to bargain with a magical creature over the rights to a warlock, which he was sure he had no say over anyway. "Why do you think I need him the most? I've never met him, he mightn't even exist!" Arthur was beginning to think that could be the case, it had seemed easy to accept the possibility of the warlock's existence in the face of Gavin's firm conviction, but now in the cold light of day, his belief was wavering.

Because Arthur had never seen him, not once over the years. He'd never suspected he was being given magical assistance ... but then he remembered the blue sphere guiding him out of the cave when he fetched the mortaeus flower for Merlin, and his belief wavered again. Had the sphere been helping him, or was it looking after his manservant?

The merman smiled again, and this time he seemed almost calm except for the fanatical glint in his eyes, Arthur found it unnerving. "Oh, Emrys exists, my prince. Don't doubt that. My home many years ago was the sea, and we have our own prophecies there. Emrys can command what I need of him."

"But why?" Arthur was confused, and he didn't like being confused, to defeat enemies it was necessary to understand them, and he didn't understand why the merman was requesting this of him.

"Why I want Emrys doesn't concern you. But he will stay with me."

Arthur felt a movement beside him and wasn't really surprised to find Merlin beside him, he sighed with some exasperation and nudged his manservant back _again_. Merlin gave him a sheepish grin and retreated somewhat, but he still stood close enough that his shoulders almost brushed the prince's.

The merman paid Merlin no attention, his unworldly stare was fixed on Arthur. "Watch, my prince." The merman stretched out a hand towards the water, and with an echoing ringing noise, an object flew out of the water and into his hand. Several barnacles were stuck on it, it looked like it had been under the water for a long time. It was about half the size of Arthur's fist. The merman held it up.

"Look, my prince. I have a priceless gift for you, to show you how reasonable I am. It is something of great value." The merman held the object aloft, and it shone with an iridescence that made it look almost like a large pearl. The creature's eyes flashed a deep green, Merlin started in surprise, but then the object rose from the merman's hands and floated slowly across the expanse of water separating the merman from them. It stopped in the air directly in front of Arthur and Merlin. It was oval and a lustrous white in colour, with small flecks of silver.

The merman smiled kindly. "Take it my prince. It's a dragon egg."

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><p><em>AN: I **did** write most of this chapter (and the next three) a couple of weeks ago in light of S4 spoilers but before 4.04 aired. Reviews? Pleeeeeeaaaaaase? :-)_


	6. Chapter 6

Gavin had parted company with them at Shalford, and they'd travelled back to Camelot that very same day and had arrived by late afternoon. Arthur had headed straight to Gaius's chambers with Merlin trailing behind him.

Bleary eyed, Merlin flopped down on the nearest bench and watched Arthur pace up and down on the stone floor. The prince waved a hand at Gaius who was bent over his work table, examining the egg with a look of deep concentration. "Why would the merman want Emrys? And why would he give us a dragon egg? That's if it is one, it could just be a strange type of rock, all the dragons are extinct, I killed the last one."

"No," Merlin said without thinking.

Arthur stopped pacing and looked at him sharply. "What do you mean by _no_? The Great Dragon is dead. You were there, you said I'd killed it."

Merlin sidestepped the question and threw caution to the wind, he had _such_ a bad headache that had started within a half hour of them taking custody of the egg, and it was taking everything Merlin had not to throw up because of the pain. "That's not what I meant. I meant ..." He sighed. "I meant the dragon egg is a different species to the Great Dragon. Look at it, it's tiny, as small as a chicken egg. I'm pretty sure it's a Water Dragon, it has the right markings." Actually the grey scribbles on the shell were completely random, but making something of them was better than saying the dragon was _talking to him constantly,_ so that was why he knew what it was.

The prince wasn't convinced. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Merlin was firm, he wanted this conversation wrapped up so he could deal with the baby privately. "And it can take scores of years before the eggs hatch. They hatch when they're ready, and when the time is right." Meaning, only when a dragon or dragonlord told them they could hatch, but he could hardly tell Arthur that.

Arthur was incredulous. "And how do you know that?"

He wasn't up to thinking of an original excuse for Arthur's perusal. "I uh ... I read it in a book."

Arthur threw his hands up in the air. "You've barely looked at the egg, you only held it for a minute!"

"Well ..." Merlin smiled weakly and shot a surreptitious glance Gaius's way. His mentor took the hint, putting down the egg and saying hastily, "Merlin's right. It's definitely the egg of a Water Dragon. And they're known to take years to hatch, the egg could have been in the lake for decades."

Arthur's frown subsided and he sat down on the bench beside Merlin, giving his manservant a half-hearted nudge on the shoulder as a hint to move over. "You read too many books Merlin. I need to give you more chores to keep you busy."

Merlin hid his relieved sigh. He doubted Gaius would know much about the egg, or even if it _was_ one. But Merlin had no doubts at all, he just _knew._ He'd been very, very careful not to touch the egg more than he had to on the trip back to Camelot, but it'd been too late by then and very probably wouldn't have made any difference, the very first time he touched the egg, the baby dragon had woken up, and he hadn't had a moment's peace since then.

She (because it was a girl, that was another thing he'd just _known_) had wanted to hatch from the moment he'd first held the egg, and it'd taken Merlin endless constant, weary repetitions in mind-speech of "no", and "not yet, but very soon", and "_I am a dragonlord, and I command you_" to hold her off. He had to ride most of the way back from the lake with his head down and his eyes shut to hide the magic he was pushing her way.

He certainly didn't want the egg to hatch when he was with it with anyone who didn't know his secret, but it wasn't just that, he sensed that she shouldn't yet, there was something about her that needed to develop more before hatching, even if the baby clearly disagreed.

And how she had disagreed.

In a desperate, and in retrospect, a stupidly misguided attempt for peace and quiet, Merlin had even resorted to telling the baby about a big scary dragon called Kilgharrah who didn't like little _noisy_ dragons, but that was when Merlin truly realised that _baby_ dragons were very possibly quite different to _big_ dragons because this one then howled in an ear-splitting canopy of noise that went on non-stop for almost an hour in a show that he was sure wasn't really put on, or designed to manipulate him into agreeing with the baby's proposed immediate egg escaping escapade.

So the trip back to Camelot had been long and loud, at least for him, and Merlin was grateful for Lancelot doing his best to distract Arthur from Merlin's apparent introspection, he wasn't up to banter or talking at all with all the noise in his head.

Fortunately Merlin wasn't expected to carry the egg, Arthur had decided such an item as rare as a dragon's egg should be guarded personally by the prince, and he had, he'd stuck it in his saddlebag. They hadn't needed to worry about crushing the egg because it was as hard as rock, yet with a slightly spongy texture on the surface under the rash of barnacles clinging to it. Merlin had trailed back as far as he could behind the others, last in the line for a change, and although the distance from the egg didn't make a different to the noise in his head, it at least allowed him to hide his turmoil as much as he could from the rest of their company.

By the time they'd reached Camelot Merlin had a blinding headache, and was as close as he'd ever been to giving up his dragonlord secret and screaming out there and then in the old language to command the baby and get her to _be quiet right now_, since mind-speech commands weren't working properly on the tiny creature. Interrogations from Morgause or that witch finder had _nothing_ on baby dragons who were determined to talk at him.

Merlin rubbed his forehead and realised Arthur was also talking again, the din in his head was almost more than he could handle. "Sorry?"

"I said, since you're so knowledgeable, when do you think it will hatch?"

Merlin knew he was showing knowledge of things usually credited to Gaius, but he was past caring if this seemed odd to Arthur. He put a hand on his forehead, pressing his fingers into his temple, and said quietly, "Soon. A few days."

"So the time is almost right?"

"Yes."

"And how exactly, do you know when the time is right?"

Merlin looked at him helplessly, his head was thumping, and the baby dragon just wouldn't _be quiet_, he really needed Arthur just to leave him alone with the egg for five minutes so he could dragonlord her properly. Gaius wasn't showing any sign that he could hear the baby, and Merlin just couldn't think any more with all the screeching and the questions and the pitiful crying to be let out which he was almost sure now _was_ put on, _and_ designed to manipulate him, now that he'd managed to convince the baby that Kilgharrah _loved_ little noisy dragons and wouldn't actually hurt her.

"Merlin, how do you know that? What makes you think the time is right?"

"Uh ..." Merlin couldn't remember the original question for a moment, the time was right for _what?_, and when he did, he tried desperately to think of a reason that wouldn't involve the fact that he could _hear_ the baby talking to him, or that he was a dragonlord so he just _knew_ the time would be right in exactly three days and no more or less, thank you very much.

Merlin was aware the prince was waiting for an answer but the nausea was growing stronger and he knew if he didn't want to disgrace himself and deal with more endless questions he'd better do something about it. He stood up abruptly and began to hunt through the top cupboard to find one of Gaius's headache potions, his still-bandaged hands making him clumsier than usual, and he knocked over a vial that released a completely disgusting smell that didn't help his stomach in any way at all.

"Merlin?" Arthur wasn't letting him off the hook, but Gaius stepped in again.

"Sire, Merlin means it's because the egg is ... or has, I should say ... because the egg has started to display grey flecks on the shell, that's a clear sign that it will hatch soon."

Merlin chugged down the sludgy brown liquid, immediately forgetting its nasty taste as a smile of admiration grew on his face, he really owed Gaius, that was an _outstanding_ save. He almost snickered and turned away from Arthur to hide his amusement, _as if_ the shell would ever change colour, but Arthur seemed to accept this as a logical explanation.

"So soon could be ...?" The prince regarded Gaius questioningly, and Merlin held up the appropriate number of fingers behind Arthur's back.

"Three days sire, four at the most."

Arthur sighed. "So we have some time to think about what to do with it then. But what I can't work out was why would the merman give a dragon egg to us?"

Merlin waited for the headache potion to take affect and tried to block out the dragon's voice. "Well the merman's not human so he's hardly a dragonlord, with the egg about to hatch he certainly couldn't control it."

Arthur scrunched his face up, Merlin wondered if he was remembering the great dragon's attack on Camelot. "So the merman isn't a dragonlord. Well, that doesn't make me feel any better. Whether it hatches at Shalford or here, it may still cause trouble for us."

Merlin wasn't in the mood to mince words. "Look at the size of the egg, Arthur. It's hardly going to be capable of much, it'll be tiny, at least at first."

The prince turned an irritated glare his way. "Yes _Merlin_, but what do you _really_ know about dragons? How quickly do they grow? Maybe we're approaching this the wrong way. Maybe we should be looking at some way of destroying it."

Merlin's eyes flashed with a moment's anger. "No!" He lowered his voice. "I mean, there's no need."

"True." Arthur knew this wasn't what Merlin meant but he said anyway, "What about sealing it away somewhere, where it can't escape?"

Merlin bit his lip then said quietly, "But that's cruel, it's a living creature, even if it's one you don't like." Arthur raised his eyebrows and even Gaius looked surprised at the line that was being drawn in the sand. Merlin rubbed his forehead and tried to sound more reasonable. He said to Arthur, "You remember what happened when you killed the unicorn, don't you? Killing a baby Water Dragon will bring about a curse to Camelot, no rains will fall and the wells and creeks will dry up." And it was true, he didn't know how he knew _that_ either, but he did.

Arthur made a face at this reminder and Merlin continued. "Look, um, do you, do you remember the dragonlord, Balinor?"

Arthur nodded, hands on his hips and a frown on his face.

"Well ... he mentioned a name to me, uh, someone who might know something about dragons. I can try and find out, you know. More about the dragon, what it will become capable of in the future."

Arthur raised his eyebrows and stared disbelievingly, for Merlin to be able to remember the name of a man mentioned to him in what was probably a passing conversation some years ago seemed a bit of a stretch, to say the least. His eyes narrowed, he knew his manservant was completely hopeless at lying.

Sure enough, at Arthur's expression, Merlin rushed into hasty speech. "Or of course you can leave it with Emrys. You could probably write him a note, leave it on your desk ... and he'll find it ... or something."

"This must be one of those times when you're not just a pretty face, right Merlin?"

Merlin scowled, was that a new way of calling him a _girl_? "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you're unusually full of useful advice tonight. And you've changed your tune about Emrys."

"I have?"

"Well a few days ago you didn't want to talk about Emrys at all, I could hardly get you to mention his name. And you said he wasn't responsible for the wind and the rain. But now you want to ask him about the dragon egg?"

Merlin gave him a cheeky grin. "No, I don't. You can."

Arthur eyed him for a moment then draped an arm around Merlin's shoulder. "And another thing. You know Merlin, I had no idea you knew so much about dragons. You're sounding more like ... an advisor ... than a mere manservant."

Merlin looked at him suspiciously. "I am?"

The prince smiled nicely and ruffled his hair a bit too hard. "Yeah. I'll have you writing my speeches and reports soon, and balancing my books."

Merlin edged away and straightened his neckerchief and smoothed down his hair. "Uh. Alright."

"But not tonight. Now I'd better take the egg back to my chambers, it needs to be guarded carefully."

"No!"

"No? Why not?"

Merlin tried to play down his alarm at this development. "Well ... I mean, Gaius might want to study it further. Don't you, Gaius?"

The physician nodded, picking up the egg carefully and holding it up to the light again. The flecks of grey shone silver. "Of course I do. There's much we can learn from an object like this. I've personally never seen a water-dragon's egg before now." He added gravely, "They're as rare as hen's teeth, such dragons and their eggs are usually only found at sea."

Arthur looked from one to the other suspiciously but found nothing untoward. "Okay, so you want to study it then?"

Gaius was serious. "And I'll be sure to inform you of my findings, sire, when they're complete."

"And what if it hatches, in the meantime. If it's a dragon as you think, then despite what you are telling me, it _could_ be quite dangerous."

"As we've advised, sire, it's merely a Water Dragon, and I am _quite_ sure it will be several days before it hatches. It's nothing like the Great Dragon, I've seen those types of eggs. It's very small." He looked at Merlin who was standing behind the prince mouthing a word. "Very possibly harmless, I'd venture to say."

"Well, Gaius, if you're sure about it then it'd be safe to leave it with you." The prince turned to Merlin and pointed a finger at him. "But if starts to hatch, or if _anything_ happens, you're to inform me at once. And _no one_ is to find out about this egg, keep it quiet."

Arthur took his leave, and Merlin barely waited for the door to shut behind the departing prince before he swiped the egg off his mentor. "Okay, Gaius, she won't stop yapping at me. I'm taking her to my chambers, I'll put up a silence ward, if you need to interrupt it for any reason – like Arthur comes back – knock twice on the door and I'll take it off. I have to get her to stop talking and calm down a bit before she drives me crazy."

"_She's_ talking to you? And she's a girl? You certainly seemed distracted."

Merlin groaned. "Constantly, she just won't stop. And talking doesn't describe what she's been doing, she's got the mind of a baby, or at least a dragon baby, she's been fractious all day, and I just know she's going to be more work than Kilgharrah when he's in a mood."

Gaius was amused. "The great dragon is moody?"

Merlin paused at the top of the stairs to his room, turning around to grin at his mentor. "Gaius, you have no idea."

* * *

><p>It didn't take long, Merlin was out of his room with a relieved look on his face in under ten minutes, the egg clutched in his hand. It was smooth and unblemished again now, he'd cleaned off the few barnacles on it with a quick spell.<p>

Gaius was waiting. "How did that go? Has she stopped talking now?"

Merlin smiled happily. "Yes. She'll be fairly quiet now up to the hatching. She'll be ready to hatch in three days, late evening probably. It took some effort to settle her down, she'd really worked herself up, but once I was able to explain she still needs to finish growing her wings, and not to mention I haven't yet got anything for her to eat or to swim in, she calmed right down. But she's very babyish, I hope she's easier to manage when she hatches. I definitely needed to speak verbally to her, the mind-speech commands were nowhere near as effective."

Gaius pushed a plate of meat, cheese and fruits across the table to his ward. "Eat. So how do you know about Water Dragons, Merlin? I'm sure you haven't read anything because I've never seen anything written on them. To be honest I've never heard of them."

Merlin sat down on the bench beside Gaius, cupping the egg in the palm of one hand. "I haven't read anything about them. I can't say I even knew of their existence until I touched her egg. But Gaius, it all seemed so obvious, once I held her, it must be the dragonlord thing. And your guess about the sea was correct, Water Dragons do live in the sea, she knows that much, but she didn't know how she came to be in the lake at Shalford." He popped a piece of cheese in his mouth.

"Do you think it was the merman could have stolen the egg? He's normally a creature of the sea, too."

"Possibly. But it seems odd, why would he? You'd think one of the parents would want to track her down, yet we've heard nothing on Water Dragons until now. Maybe that's why he gave her to us, to escape the wrath of her parent. And yet I can't feel a call from her parent."

Merlin stroked the egg absently with the tips of his fingers, lost in his thoughts. He polished off the slices of ham and toyed with a grape. "Gaius, she'll need looking after when she hatches, she's not capable of finding her own food as a newborn. And I can't sense any fire element in her like Kilgharrah, so I don't know if she can defend herself. She'll be able to water and air breathe, but she's very insistent on wanting salt water, not fresh water."

"You realise you're going to have to think of something to tell Arthur when she hatches. She'll be attached to you, and it sounds like she may have speech which he may not expect."

"I know. I don't know what I'll tell him, but I'll manage, I always do. I just wish I could trust him with the truth, but hearing his manservant is a dragonlord is not something he's ready for, and I don't know if I am either. I just want to be Merlin for a bit longer, before I have to be all the rest."

Merlin shook off his introspection. "But now, there's something I must do."

Gaius raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Merlin stood up and dropped the egg carefully into a beaker of salted water which he carried back to his room. He stuck his head out his door to smile at Gaius.

"I need to speak with Kilgharrah. And after that, it's time for Arthur to meet Emrys."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Reviews? Pretty please? And I did have this written before watching 4.04 (had trouble with the earlier chapter and it took me ages to fix it). I didn't have exactly the same idea as the script writers about how the egg hatches but it was close! If you can think of a name for a baby water dragon and you don't mind me stealing it, please let me know, I'm stuck!_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews, and the suggestions for baby dragon names. This is a long chapter, I was going to split it up but it does work better together. Hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

><p>"What do you think, Gaius? Will Arthur recognise me?"<p>

Merlin was dressed in the blue robe Lord Gavin had left him.

"Well ..." Gaius looked at him doubtfully and Merlin grinned.

"Oh sorry, what about now?" He whispered a quick enchantment, his eyes glimmered and then Gaius couldn't make out his face at all, his features were nothing but a blurred mass.

"Merlin, that's quite disturbing. You look almost like a spirit." Gaius tried to see past the magic hiding his identity but the more he looked the less he could see. "No, I can't even tell your hair colour. But watch your hands, they're still bandaged."

"Oh yes." Merlin unwound the bandages and flexed his hands, examining the webbing again. He sighed, the extra skin didn't look like it was about to go away any time soon, he'd have to be patient. "I'll pull my sleeves over them, I can't risk doing anything to them with the webbing enchantment on them."

"You didn't tell me what you were trying to do with that, Merlin."

Merlin turned away hastily. "Oh nothing much."

Gaius raised an eyebrow but let it go, his ward was secretive by nature. "Are you sure you don't want to bring out Dragoon again instead?"

Merlin had considered it, but really, the druids had been nice enough to give him the fine blue robe which he was quite taken by, and this would be the only chance to give it an airing. While he truly enjoyed Dragoon's outspokenness _especially_ with Arthur, Dragoon had too many aches and pains, and running was nowhere near as easy, and if he was not greatly mistaken, he was going to be running around after a baby dragon in a few days. He shook his head. "No, not this time. And I'd better go. I'm going to call on Kilgharrah before Emrys meets Arthur. You ready?"

Gaius asked dryly, "Me? What should I be ready for?"

Merlin grinned. "Just watch and see what I learnt from the book." He muttered the necessary words for the teleporting incantation and vanished from Gaius's sight, reappearing almost instantly on the far side of the castle, outside, high up on the battlements and hidden from view unless there was a guard patrolling, but there wasn't as he'd already taken care of that. He'd been reluctant to teleport to the usual meeting spot with Kilgharrah, he found the presence of trees and animals around the clearing disruptive to the spell.

So instead, he'd staked out an under-utilised area on the eastern side of the castle earlier that evening, casting a few enchantments to repel any casual visitors, and putting a block on the guards' patrols of the area so they missed it completely when the enchantment was activated.

The night was reasonably clear yet with a few clouds drifting over some of the stars. It wasn't the most ideal location or night to call on Kilgharrah, but Merlin was confident enough in his own abilities to escape detection, and the dragon's care as he came in to land, that this new meeting spot would work well enough for now. He wondered idly if Kilgharrah could teleport.

The dragon landed neatly in front of him, flapping his wings to settle his balance before bringing them flush with his body. He lowered his head, his tone slightly disapproving. "You've called me to the castle, Merlin. Don't become reckless."

Merlin pushed back his hood, he'd removed the facial blurring spell before he'd teleported, even though Kilgharrah would have been able to see right through it. He said without preamble, "Please don't use my name here Kilgharrah, I've taken every precaution but I still don't want to risk discovery."

The dragon inclined his head in agreement but turned his head to the side, regarding Merlin closely. "There's something odd, about you, tonight."

Merlin was pleased it was dark enough that Kilgharrah hadn't noticed his hands, he was careful to keep them fisted, he didn't need lectures on performing enchantments carelessly. "It's probably a blurring facial spell, I had one on me just before I called you. I'm using it later to visit Arthur."

The dragon didn't answer and Merlin continued. "Arthur has been informed by the druids that Emrys protects him. Emrys will meet him tonight."

"I see." The dragon was calm.

"But that's not really why I called you. I need your advice."

"You always do, my young friend."

Merlin smiled. "But this is different. There's a merman in the Lake of Shalford, and he'd given us ..."

"Yes?"

"Something of interest to both of us, I'd think."

Kilgharrah said dryly, "Don't keep me in suspense, young warlock."

Merlin took a step back to better see Kilgharrah's face. "I have the egg of a Water Dragon, Kilgharrah. It will hatch in three days."

The dragon reared back in surprise, Merlin had never seen such excited amazement on his face. "Are you sure?" Kilgharrah's voice came out in a great rumble and Merlin made hasty shushing sounds.

"Sure of what, what the egg is, or the hatching period? Kilgharrah, I'm a dragonlord, of course I'm sure. What can you tell me of Water Dragons?"

The dragon's eyes were bright. "What is it you wish to know?"

Merlin shrugged. "Everything. I'm guessing they're small, at least at first. This one doesn't appear to have any fire element in her."

"A female?"

"Yes. And she's temperamental, is that normal?"

"Dragons are as diverse in temperament as humans can be, young warlock."

Merlin crossed his arms over his chest and began pacing. "Okay. I can work out some things because she's talking to me a lot, what to feed her, her need for water as well as air breathing, that sort of thing. But I don't know how quickly she'll grow, or how strong her magic will be. I'm getting the sense that she won't be very big based on her egg size, would that be right? What can I expect of her growth pattern? When is she able to look after herself, should I take her to the sea? And how similar to you is she?"

"So many questions my young friend."

"Yes. Can you answer them?"

Kilgharrah was silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, then he lowered his head so he could better speak directly to Merlin. "Sea Dragons, or Water Dragons as you've called them, are the divine rulers of all the oceans that cover the span of the earth. Their numbers are unknown to me, but it's believed there's one in each different corner of the ocean. Their castles are deep within the sea where no creature of the air can venture. I've never met one." He paused thoughtfully. "That you have come by an egg of such a dragon is unusual, young warlock. But perhaps your involvement is fated in their prophecies, for those of the water live different lives to those that breathe the air."

Kilgharrah stretched out his wings, flapping them then drawing them in again. "Is she similar to me? She is as different to me as night is to day, yet we are part of one cycle, for we are the same, we are both dragons. My element is fire, and as you've guessed, she doesn't have that capability and never will. Her strength is water. As an adult she'll be able to manipulate the rain, both over the sea and for many, many leagues inland. If angered she can bring destructive wind and rain even to Camelot."

Merlin nodded and Kilgharrah continued. "Yet these dragons are the most peaceful of us all."

"And?" Merlin placed a hand on the side of the dragon's head, idly scratching the rough scales, and Kilgharrah leaned into the contact.

"As for her growth, how big she will end up growing will depend upon the water she lives in. If she lived in a village pond she'd never grow bigger than a young horse. Yet if she's returned to the depths of the ocean her size will eventually rival mine. And as she grows older, within a few years, she'll gradually lose the ability fly, and to breathe in the air, and will live only in the water."

Merlin nodded again, it made sense. And as she probably came from the sea originally that would explain why there was no parent looking for her, he or she couldn't if the mature dragons couldn't air breathe. "Should I return her to the sea, Kilgharrah? Would she be better off there as soon as she hatches?"

"No. You should not do so unless you are confident of a parent to care for her. For her breed are the most helpless of us all for their first year or so of life. And even I cannot help you greatly in your care of her, my young friend. For my size and lack of human appendages means I cannot be gentle enough with one of the water."

"What about her capabilities for magic, how will she be as a baby?"

"As any baby would, young warlock. Much like you were, I imagine."

Merlin's face fell. "Oh, that's not good. Not able to control much then?"

"Correct. Her magic will be strong from the beginning but unfocused, you would do well to monitor her carefully. But that will change as she grows older, although you may not notice a great deal of progress for some time."

Merlin looked at him expectantly but Kilgharrah appeared to have said all he would. "Thank you."

"Call on me again within the week, young warlock. I wish to meet her."

* * *

><p>Merlin pulled up his hood again and made his way to Arthur's chambers in the usual way, in that he didn't teleport. Arthur was fond of swords and Merlin wasn't keen to start the meeting off on the wrong end of a sharp piece of metal. He blurred his facial features, and, in order to avoid notice, slowed down time whenever he had to pass someone in the winding corridors leading to Arthur's chambers.<p>

He entered Arthur's room cautiously, with a silencing spell. The prince was in bed and didn't stir. Merlin muttered a quick enchantment to disguise his voice, then he blocked all sound from the room and took up a position well away from the prince on the far side of his chambers, against the wall. With a word he lit the candle beside Arthur's bed.

The prince woke immediately, leaping out of bed with a jerk and fumbling for his sword, but he was blinded by the light. Merlin was grateful Arthur couldn't see him grinning in amusement, he knew enough of Arthur to realise the prince had just woken from a deep sleep, Arthur had almost fallen over in his haste to get out of bed and he was usually never that clumsy.

With another word, Merlin lit the candles on the prince's desk, and he knew Arthur noticed him then as the prince stilled, gripping his sword in both hands and pointing it in Merlin's direction.

Merlin didn't bother to suppress a sigh of exasperation. "I hope you're not planning to run me through with that?"

The prince hesitated, then the point of the sword lowered, but Arthur kept his grip on it. "Nice robe. Emrys, I presume?"

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"I can't say I was expecting you, at least not at this precise moment."

"I'd have thought after that ultimatum from the merman a visit wouldn't be a great surprise?"

"It was more the actual timing tonight. I was asleep." The prince took several steps forward.

Merlin put up his hand, and a golden shimmer appeared in front of him. "I know, you were snoring. Stay back please."

Arthur stopped and tipped his head to the side. "Snoring? Right." He seemed slightly taken aback. "And why do you want me to stay back? I want to see what you look like."

"You're holding a sword, Prince Arthur."

"And you're a warlock. You could stop me, if I attacked you."

Merlin inclined his head. "I could. But I might hurt you, and I don't want to do that."

Arthur hesitated again, then the prince lowered his sword to the floor and pushed it to the side. "Fair enough. Now can I come closer?"

Merlin regarded this development uneasily but dropped the shield and took a step back, realising too late he was already backed up against the wall. "You don't need to come closer. And you can't see what I look like. I'm using an enchantment to disguise my features."

But Arthur paid his words no heed, he hadn't paused in his stride, and Merlin found himself edging sideways uneasily, instinctively reinstating the shield again so the prince was forced to stay several feet away from him. Merlin lowered his hands as the shield glimmered again, he'd been careful to ensure his fingers stayed together so the webbing couldn't be seen.

"You're touchy Emrys, I didn't expect that. Why don't you want me to see you? I know you already, don't I?"

Merlin wondered if this meeting was spiralling out of his control. This wasn't how he'd planned it. But the shield had allowed him to relax again, he smiled at the prince even though he knew Arthur wouldn't be able to see it through the facial blur. "That's not why I came here, Prince Arthur. We have matters to discuss. The merman."

Arthur allowed the change of subject. "Yes, the merman. What can you tell me about him?"

Merlin sighed. "I don't know a lot more than you, I certainly didn't know he was there until a few days ago. That a merman would interact with humans is unusual, unlike mermaids, merman are secretive creatures by nature. They also tend to stay in oceans, although given the Lake at Shalford is salt water and quite large, the location isn't that unusual." Merlin smiled to himself, wondering if he was sounding like Gaius. "Humans generally don't interest them although if the reports from the druids are to be believed, this one does seem to like to make contact every decade or so. And it seems he'd like my company."

"So you heard that?"

"I did."

"Then you'd've heard him say that you're _precious_ to me, and taking you will cause me pain."

"You have a good memory, Prince Arthur."

"Why do you think he said that? It makes me very curious about who you are under the disguise." Arthur reached out a hand towards the slight golden glimmer of the shield in the air. He touched it, it was warm but not hot, and slightly flexible too. It bent a little where he pressed at it.

Merlin felt his heart begin to race, he didn't like this line of thinking, but he said calmly enough, "I don't believe my actual identity has anything to do with it. More that without me, you and those you care about would be defenceless against magical attacks, and so you'd die sooner or later, probably sooner. You can't beat magic without magic, Prince Arthur, no matter what you might think has happened in the past."

Arthur considered it. "Alright then. But tell me, just out of interest, Emrys, how _did_ you hear what the merman said? I didn't see you anywhere nearby." He brushed the shield again with the tips of his fingers.

"_Must_ you do that?" The poking tickled and Merlin wriggled uncomfortably; Arthur dropped his hand. "Magic has many uses. Without wishing to sound too odd, Prince Arthur, I'm always near." Merlin smiled to himself at the look on Arthur's face. "At least, I try and be when you need me."

"I see." Arthur didn't know what to think of this. "But I can't ask you to sacrifice yourself to this creature. I won't, and I don't expect you to."

"It'd hardly be a sacrifice, Prince Arthur. I doubt he'd be able to hurt me, unless he caught me unawares, which he won't."

"So Emrys, are you telling me your magic is stronger than this creature's? You could kill him, if you wish."

"Possibly."

"Will you kill him?"

"Are you asking me?"

"I might. What would you do if I asked you to kill him? Will you obey me?"

There was silence for a long moment, and Arthur thought the shadowed form wasn't going to answer. But then he said slowly but firmly, "No, I won't."

"You won't obey a command from your prince and regent?"

Merlin sighed. "But you're_ not_ asking me to kill him, are you? You're testing me, both to see if I'll follow your orders unquestioningly and, to see what kind of person I am. Am I a killer? I don't want to be but yes, I can be when I have to, but so can you. But regardless, this sort of scenario is one of the reasons I didn't want you to know of my existence yet, Prince Arthur. You're not ready for the responsibility of me, not to mention I'm magic so the law says you should be trying to arrest me. And you're still finding your feet as a ruler, you're young yet, and despite what the druids think, the time is not right for us to meet in the open."

Arthur wondered if he should feel insulted, but he didn't. This warlock was intriguing, and certainly wasn't afraid of expressing his opinions. "But you're young too, younger than me I believe, that's what Lord Gavin said. Is it true?"

"It is."

"So you're younger than me Emrys, yet I've been taught from birth that I'll rule as a king one day. All my life lessons are geared towards that goal. Do you think you can over-rule me? Do you assume I'll be your puppet-king?"

"That's not what I meant, Prince Arthur, and you know it. With leadership and power comes great responsibility, but my power is not your responsibility yet. It's my burden alone, for now."

"So you won't kill the merman?"

"No. Only if there is no other choice. He must be stopped, and the children must be rescued." Merlin tipped his head back against the wall and watched the moonlight spill through a chink in the curtains. "What's driving him, have you thought about it? He's lonely, something I understand too well. Perhaps his pain, and the loss he speaks of, has driven him to consider actions that may have terrible consequences. Yet revenge has to stop somewhere, if it doesn't, we'll all be dead."

"I thought all sorcerers were bent on destruction and killing, are you telling me you're different?"

Merlin had never experienced Arthur's attention so sharply focused on him for such a length of time, it was slightly unnerving. He fingered his blue hood and said lightly, "Oh come on, Prince Arthur. You're not that simple. You can't tell me that just because you're a knight and kill in battle or to protect your friends, that you'd happily slaughter everything in sight just because you can."

Arthur was slightly taken aback at the emotion edging the warlock's tone. "No. You're right. Of course I wouldn't."

"Though perhaps that explains your preoccupation with hunting."

Arthur frowned, was that a dig at him? This slight familiarity and the ease of which he spoke was odd, Emrys _did_ know him. "We eat everything we kill. It's food."

"Not squirrels."

Arthur stared. "That was once, and how did you know that anyway?"

The answer wasn't an answer. "Magic."

"So what do you think we should do about the merman? Why does he want you?"

"That I don't know," Merlin admitted. "But it might be something to do with prophecies from water based creatures. However my usual source of information on the prophecies was in the dark too, he doesn't know a lot about water magic. But it doesn't matter, I have a plan."

"You do?"

"Yes. And he's given us another few days, so let me work on it a bit more and I'll visit you again later to see what you think of it."

"That's the best you have?"

Merlin sighed. "Have I mentioned yet I've never been defeated by a magical creature? And you do seem to run into them quite often."

Arthur eyed him suspiciously, but he wasn't going to re-think all his battles right now. "Well, what about the dragon egg? I gather you know about that too?"

Merlin stretched and stifled a yawn, he'd been up for a long time and he was tired. "She'll be fine. Leave her with Merlin."

"A her? Leave her with _Merlin_?"

"Delegation, Prince Arthur. Delegate and don't interfere. A useful skill for warlocks and princes." He decided a little prompt couldn't hurt. "Trust Merlin, he's perfectly capable, he's good with animals, particularly the live ones. When has he ever let you down? She'll hatch within a few days, he'll look after her. She's harmless."

"Harmless." Arthur tested the word thoughtfully, that was exactly what Gaius had said. "Right. How will you know if I want to talk to you in the meantime? Do you want me to leave a note somewhere?"

Merlin shook his head, he didn't want his name written down anywhere. And Arthur was looking far too serious about it all. "What? You mean something like _Dear Emrys, We need to talk. Meet me in my chambers tonight at midnight. From Arthur._ That sort of thing?"

The prince crossed his arms and frowned.

Merlin murmured, "And I'd heard you had a sense of humour. But maybe not."

"That was a joke?"

Merlin sighed. "And clearly it was too early in our acquaintance to try it out. But please, don't ever write my name, and never speak of me to anyone, except perhaps to Gaius, or Merlin, I know they've both heard of me. I believe the Knights of the Roundtable are trustworthy too, but they're Knights, they don't need to be involved with me. Trust no one else, you know what happened with Morgana. If Lord Gavin had forced this situation on us prior to you learning of her true nature, then things would be very different."

"Did you know she'd betray me?"

"She'd been betraying you for almost two years before she claimed the throne, Prince Arthur."

"You knew, and you let it happen anyway?"

"There were reasons, Prince Arthur, and perhaps one day you'll work them out for yourself. But know that I'm not the authority or the power in Camelot, you are. At the time of these events you didn't know of my existence, and I doubt you would have believed me anyway should I have spoken against her. But please, this isn't the time to discuss Morgana."

"It's not, I agree. The druids didn't need to do this, did they? To tell me about you? You would have discovered the merman and the disappearances, and even the sand people, on your own."

"Yes. And I could have dealt with it all in the shadows as I usually do. But the druid's magic is more often tied to the land, to the earth, and not so much the water. The water isn't their natural territory so maybe they don't have anyone strong in that element. And their children have been taken from them, they need them back." Merlin stuck his hands in the pockets of the nice blue robe and leant back against the wall and stifled a yawn. "But they'd know more of the prophecies than I do, perhaps they thought it was time to contact me regardless."

"_They'd _know more of the prophecies than you do? You're kidding me."

"No, I'm not. Why is that surprising?"

"It's just ... well, aren't you meant to be the most powerful warlock ever? I'm sure that's what Lord Gavin said. Wouldn't you know, well, _more_ about everything?"

Merlin said matter of factly, "Yes and no. Most powerful? I guess I will be, one day at least, that much is prophesised. I haven't been beaten magically yet although I really wouldn't mind getting injured less often, although that's what happens when I'm restricted in what I can do by the need to keep my head on my shoulders. The druids have much better general knowledge about the prophecies, and they'd know more about magic theory than I do. I am magic, but I'm mainly self-taught. My contact with other magical users has generally always been about eliminating magical threats to you or Camelot."

Arthur was intrigued.

"And knowledge of the prophecies, well, I had a normal upbringing, Prince Arthur, or as normal as I could have for a child who had to make sure no one ever found out about their abilities. In a normal location, surrounded by normal non-magical people. I had no idea why I'd been given these gifts until I came to Camelot."

"So when did you come to Camelot then?"

"When I did, Prince Arthur."

"You're not going to tell me?" Arthur reached out and poked at the shield.

Merlin rubbed his ribs. "No."

"Recently?"

"I thought you were a hunter, but now, you're fishing. Time is a relative term that isn't easily definable, Prince Arthur."

"You're going to tell me why?" He poked the shield again.

"_Will you stop that?_" Merlin glared and almost wished Arthur could see his expression.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you take the shield off?"

"Actually, I was thinking about changing it to one that will _slap you back_, if you touch it."

"Okay, I get the message." Arthur rubbed his chin, unconcerned, but the prodding at least stopped.

Merlin had had enough, it was definitely time to go. "Now, how to reach me?" He glanced around the room for inspiration, his gaze falling on Arthur's bowl of fruit sitting in the middle of the dining table. He strode across to the table, and Arthur was pushed backwards as the shield travelled with him. Merlin picked up an apple and tossed it across the room to Arthur, the prince caught it automatically.

"I'm fond of apples. Leave one on the corner of your desk when you wish to speak with me, and I'll come." The prince seemed amused at this and Merlin added, "I'll take my leave of you now, Prince Arthur."

Arthur nodded and Merlin disappeared in a rush of wind.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hmm?" Arthur was lost in his thoughts.

He'd eaten the breakfast Merlin served, but had been somewhat quiet, the everyday banter Merlin dished out was not being countered by the prince in his normal manner. Merlin would have smiled if he wasn't so tired, it was unusual seeing the prince in such an introspective mood.

Merlin opened the wardrobe door and repeated his question. "Arthur, what are you doing this morning?"

There was no answer and Merlin sighed and tried again. "What clothes do you want me to put out?"

Arthur idly traced the top of his empty goblet with the tip of a finger and then pushed it away. "Oh, just pick anything."

"Yes, but is it training with the knights? A council meeting? A court session? Visiting your father?" Arthur still didn't seem to be paying attention so Merlin added slyly, "Or catching up with Gwen, how about your new shirt?"

That got a slight smile. "Oh, whatever, just pick something, would you Merlin?"

"So you're not visiting Gwen?"

"I'll have you know Merlin, that _Guinevere_ will be busy with my father this time of morning." The prince picked up one of the smooth green apples from the fruit bowl in the middle of his dining table.

Merlin draped a pair of brown trousers and a red tunic across the top of Arthur's dressing screen. The prince didn't seem to notice. Merlin stifled a yawn, he was so tired, and he shouldn't be, after all, he was accustomed to late nights. He scratched at the bandages on his hands again. The prince was still staring off at nothing in particular and Merlin decided he _would_ ask. "Arthur, is something on your mind?"

The prince put down the apple he'd been tossing between one hand and the other. "I suppose I might as well tell you and get it over and done with ..."

Merlin dropped Arthur's boots on the floor beside the screen. "Tell me what?"

"I had a visitor, last night. Emrys."

"And?"

"And ... I don't know."

"Since I can't see donkey ears, I guess it went alright?"

"That was a goblin, _Merlin_, not a sorcerer." Arthur gave him a _look_ and picked up the apple again. "And it's probably the first time I've spoken with a warlock and come out of it totally unscathed."

"I don't think so."

Arthur raised his head. "No?"

"I heard about Dragoon the Great. Sounds like he missed his chance to turn you into a handsome prince."

Arthur's mouth quirked. "You know, the stocks are there for a reason, Merlin."

"So are you going to tell me what happened, or not?"

"We talked, obviously. He won't tell me who he is, he was wearing some sort of disguise that meant I couldn't make out his facial features, I tried, but it ended up giving me a headache." Merlin was surprised, he might have to adjust the enchantment if that was true, although no, he wouldn't, it served Arthur right, he shouldn't have been trying to see past it.

"He didn't tell me much about himself, but he's not a druid, and he said something that I think meant he's had magical abilities since he was a child, I didn't know that was possible. I still wonder if he's a knight though, I think he might be. Hey, stand over there for a minute." Arthur put down the apple and pointed to the wall that Emrys had been leaning against last night.

"What? Why?"

"I want to see how tall you are." Merlin backed up against the wall and tried not to look nervous.

Arthur studied him for a moment then shook his head. "No, you're shorter, way shorter. He was definitely taller than that. Much taller than me."

Merlin saved his amusement for later. "So he made an impression, then?"

"I didn't expect him to be, well ... normal. He seemed normal. Like a normal person. Funny."

"Funny? What does that mean?"

"Just ... funny."

"You need to work on your vocabulary. Is funny good or bad?"

Arthur gave him a half-hearted whack on the arm and disappeared behind the dressing screen. "If you're asking me did I like him? Well, first impressions yeah, he's probably alright. Seems honest, could be trustworthy, but after Morgana what would I know about that? He's not frightened of me, but why would he be, if he's as powerful as we're told? Certainly says what he thinks, he's definitely prepared to disagree with me and very willing to say so."

"Are you going to tell anyone about him?"

"I've told you, haven't I?"

"I don't count."

Arthur stuck his head out from behind the screen and gave him an amused look. "Really?"

"Oh, you know what I mean." Merlin walked over and helped him with his shirt, untucking it from his belt. "I'd already heard about him, I told you about him, that's what I meant."

"You didn't tell me much."

"Well you're not telling me much!"

"I would, if you'd stop babbling for a moment." Merlin's open mouth shut and Arthur gave him a smile that showed all his teeth. "Better. Now, where was I? Right, we met, he had an odd voice too, I think he was disguising it. We talked about the merman and the children. Emrys said he has a plan about it, and he'll seek me out again in a few days. I _think_ he thinks he can manage the creature."

"What about you? Do you think that too? That he can?"

Arthur shrugged. "Time will tell. But I don't know what else to do, short of sending an army down to the lake and an action like that could well result in the deaths of these children, if they're not dead already. No, the merman has given us a few more days before he wants Emrys handed over to him, so we need to utilise them."

The prince pulled on his boots. "But one thing I am doing this morning, Merlin, is ordering extra supplies into Camelot in case we end up with a war with these sand people. And Leon will head a party of knights to ride out to all the villages within ten leagues of Shalford and order the people to leave. That at least may save other children if he tries to take them. Some of those villagers may come here, I want you to tell the Town Steward to liaise with Leon when he returns about food and shelter for them, I'll get Leon to try and get some idea of numbers when he's away. Even Gavin said the druid camps are moving, so they're still afraid, even though they seem to have confidence in this Emrys."

"So, Merlin, in answer to your question about what am I doing this morning, I'm meeting with the council to let them know about the merman." He didn't miss the slight alarm on Merlin's face. "What?"

Merlin rubbed his forehead. "Are you going to tell them about your visitor?"

"Emrys? Hardly. Some of them were my father's biggest supporters in his persecution of magic users. But I'm different."

"You are."

"Of course I am, Merlin."

"I know that, it wasn't a question. It was a statement." Merlin edged behind the screen and collected Arthur's night shirt.

"It sounded like you _might_ have been trying to give me a compliment, and you know that makes me edgy. A successful ruler has to be able to adapt to change, and if liaising with a warlock for the good of my people is something I have to do, then I'll do it, for now anyway. After all, it's not like I can go and arrest this Emrys, Gavin said he's powerful, and he must be, he managed some sort of glowy shield around himself so I couldn't get anywhere near him, and he disappeared into thin air when he left."

"He did?" Merlin managed a wide-eyed look. "Like ... whoosh?"

Arthur rolled his eyes at this description. "Well, yeah, I guess. Right in front of me. Kind of impressive actually, although you're such a girl you'd have probably have been terrified."

Merlin kept his smile firmly locked away.

Arthur thrust a pile of dirty clothes at him. "One of my early tutors told me to always keep my friends close and my enemies closer. Only thing is, I'm not sure which side Emrys will fall."

He frowned at the look on Merlin's face, his manservant seemed all of a sudden a little grumpy, the _girl_ taunt had obviously hit home. Arthur picked up the nightshirt that Merlin had neatly folded and stuck it back in his arms on top of the other dirty clothes. "That needs washing too. But, if what Gavin said is true, then ... well, for now I'll give Emrys the benefit of the doubt, I need to get to know him better, maybe I'll introduce you to him if you can stop your knees knocking."

He picked up a couple of pillows from his bed and piled them up under Merlin's chin. "Don't forget them either. Well that wraps up my whereabouts for the next few hours, now you'll want to know what I've got planned for you, right?"

It was definitely washing. Merlin hoped it wasn't the stables too.

"You're going to find out more about the prophecy of Emrys and Once and Future King. This druid book that Gavin was talking about. Gerfreg, Ger-something, do you remember its name?"

Merlin didn't think there wasn't much point denying it, Arthur would only ask Gaius anyway. He let one of the pillows drop to the floor. "Gefrégea. Book of Gefrégea. It means knowledge."

"I gather you'd heard of it before Gavin mentioned it?"

"Um ... yes."

"I don't suppose you've read it?"

Merlin hesitated and juggled his pile, and Arthur looked at him sharply. Merlin thought about lying, then sighed. "Yes, I've read it."

Arthur put his hands on his hips. "So it's in Camelot? A _druid_ holy book?"

"Yes. But it's not a holy book, just a book on beliefs and traditions and er, maybe some prophecies."

"_Just_ prophecies? Right, I'm pleased we cleared that up." Arthur gave him a long look and Merlin managed a sheepish grin in response. "So, would this book be in Gaius's chambers, or god forbid, _your room_?

"No! No. Of _course_ not."

Arthur waited, but Merlin didn't elaborate. "Well, am I meant to guess where it is?"

"It's in the library. But ... don't ask for it. Um, Geoffrey of Monmouth probably hasn't exactly seen it, he wouldn't know it's even there." Merlin paused, then added, "I think."

"And ..?"

Merlin had already given up. He dumped the pile of washing on Arthur's dining table and pretended to rearrange it to cover the nervous twitching in his hands. "Well, it's um ... it's actually in a hidden room, I don't think Geoffrey knows about the room."

"But you do?"

"I just said I'd read it, didn't I?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fine, I don't want to know any more detail right now. But you're taking me to see that room some time. Just go get the book and bring it here, I need to read it."

"Um ..." Merlin didn't move.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Arthur picked up a goblet and began to toss it idly from one hand to the other.

Merlin watched the movement cautiously. "Um ... I don't think you can read it."

The goblet was set back down on the table with a decided bang. "I _can_ read, Merlin. I can understand enough to get the gist of _several_ languages."

Merlin scratched the back of his head and tried to sound casual. "Um, yes, but not this one. It's just that it's in a mix of Frisian, Old Latin, Greek, and um, some Goidelic languages, other ... er, writings, and uh, even Gaius can only understand bits here and there." Merlin wasn't going to mention why Gaius couldn't read it all, there were some sections where the reader had to have strong magic to be able to understand it, Merlin was sure the book was primarily read by druid chieftains. He gave the prince his trademark lopsided grin, the one he used when he _really_ didn't want to raise further suspicion. After all, it usually worked.

There was a long, loaded silence, and Merlin tried not to fidget, he guessed Arthur would be able to read some Greek and Latin but not the other languages, nor the magic that layered most of the book of course. When he had read it, Merlin had to keep a reveal enchantment focused on the book most of the time, otherwise the bulk of the text was nothing but gibberish. Merlin concentrated on scrunching up his feet as tight as he could, that sign of tension at least couldn't be betrayed to Arthur.

The prince sighed heavily. "_You_ can read it, _but Gaius can't?_"

Why had he been stupid enough to mention that bit? Merlin tried to stutter though an explanation that involved the writing being _really tiny_ and Gaius's eyeglasses _not strong enough_, and very possibly at the time the said glasses were also _dirty and slightly chipped_, but Gaius _didn't notice until the next day,_ and not to mention ... but Arthur held up his hand and shook his head before Merlin was even half-way through the story. "Have I ever mentioned you're a riddle, Merlin?"

Merlin tried not to wince. He gathered up the washing and slowly began edging towards the door, keen to finish this conversation. "Um ... well, you might have. You know, once."

Arthur shook his head. "Just go get it, will you? You can read it to me later tonight when I have time."

Merlin put his hand on the door handle, then stopped and dipped his head in a picture of obedience. But he frowned. "Oh." He put his finger on his chin and said slyly, "_Right_, you mean read it to you like a bedtime story? There are other books in the library you know, about bold and daring princes rescuing terrified maidens from ... something or other. Will I get one of those too?"

The goblet sailed through the air and Merlin dodged it, almost catching the linen in the door as he slammed it on his way out. He grinned, relieved. He did have some researching to do, but it wasn't about the prophecies or the Book of Gefrégea.

Instead he was going to find out more about the merman's daughter.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: I hope you'll excuse me for a bridging chapter ... but since you're reading a merlin fanfic you'll get my excitement ... I'm off to see Colin Morgan tomorrow at the Brisbane Supanova and I'm SOOOO EXCITED, far too excited to write much! I only just found out he was coming to Australia yesterday so this was a very last minute idea to go see him. :-)))))))))))))))_

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><p>It was a long day.<p>

Merlin decided to save the library and the Book of Gefrégea for later in the day. He knew he'd have to bring the druid book to Arthur, but Merlin wasn't going to try and sneak it past Geoffrey in broad daylight, such an escapade was better saved for the dark. And he wasn't planning to do _exactly_ what Arthur had asked either - he had no intention of translating everything that the Book wrote about Emrys and the Once and Future King. He could not let Arthur suspect his secret, so wanted some time to think about what the book said and what he could let Arthur know.

So he planned to visit the library later, and concentrated on his usual chores during the morning. But by midday, Merlin was unbearably tired. After Arthur had left for his council meeting, Merlin had taken the breakfast plates back to the kitchen, then done some washing and cleaned the prince's room. But Merlin hadn't finished the cleaning when he found himself slumping against the cool stone wall in the prince's room, unusually exhausted. He rubbed his chest, it felt ... odd. He thought about it for a moment, a faint nagging sense of unease playing on his mind, but he couldn't narrow down what he should be concerned about, so he shrugged the feeling off.

His hands were itchy again too. He didn't think Arthur would be back for quite some time so he unwound the bandages covering his hands and peered at the membrane between his fingers. The thin film of skin was still there like it'd always been a part of him, and it didn't look like it was about to go away any time soon. He sighed and decided to leave the bandages off for a while, the itching went away when the skin wasn't covered, and if he kept his hands together no one would notice.

He leant against the wall, his head to the side, the cold press of the stone against his cheek was soothing. He was so hot, but also a little cold, and heavy-eyed and tired. He knew he'd have to get up again soon, not only did he still have some chores to finish, he didn't like leaving the dragon's egg for too long, while she was settled now, the little creature started whimpering every few hours and calling out to him, and Merlin found she hushed quickly if he was quick to respond; if he took his time, she tended to get too noisy and once or twice he had to _command _her to quieten down again. She was getting better at being soothed by mind speech, but she seemed to prefer it when he picked up the egg and spoke to her.

He wriggled against the wall, trying to find a more comfortable position. He felt so lethargic and sleepy. He decided to shut his eyes, just a moment wouldn't hurt. He had no intention of falling asleep, but he did. He woke with a jerk much later, dazed, and for a moment he didn't know where he was.

Dusk had fallen, Arthur's room was dim. Merlin didn't move for a minute, letting awareness come back to him in increments. He didn't realise what had woken him until he heard it again, the first call had been in his dreams but now the baby dragon was growing increasingly vocal.

He stood up on shaky legs, putting a hand on the wall to steady himself, and stumbled back to his room to deal with her. Gaius was out, he picked up the egg and sat down on the edge of the bed, and talked to her. She wanted to know about the outside world this time, he gave her descriptions of Camelot and the castle, and the people within it. He didn't know how interested she was in what he was saying, but the sound of his voice soothed the tiny creature, and she was content to be left to her own devices again, when he remembered his other plans.

He'd wanted to go to the library to find out more about the merman's daughter, and why Uther had her executed so a trip to the archives was in order. He warmed the baby's water and placed the egg back in it, then he rewrapped the bandages over his hands, heartily sick of them.

He had to hurry before Geoffrey shut for the day, he could always use his abilities to get in undetected later of course, but he didn't know where these types of records were kept, so he wanted to ask the librarian.

Geoffrey wasn't very pleased to be asked to show him the court's records of executions, but he reluctantly directed Merlin to the musty old pile of ledgers when Merlin uttered the magic words, _Gaius wants to know_.

Merlin peered at the huge pile of books and sighed, then settled down at the table to thumb through them. He found the book he wanted fairly quickly, the ledger for that year was the sixth tome from the top of the pile. He brushed the dust off the cover of the book with the back of his sleeve, but when he opened it he peered at it in dismay; the book hadn't been bound, and all the pages in it were loose sheets and it was clear they weren't in order when the first one was dated the seventh month of the year.

Geoffrey must have heard his groan, because he stuck his head around the corner and cleared his throat enquiringly.

Merlin held the top piece of parchment up and tried not to sound too annoyed. "The book's not in order."

Geoffrey frowned at him accusingly, like that was possibly _Merlin's_ fault, but then his face cleared. "Ah, yes. That one fell off the table one day, I was always meaning to go through it and put it back in order." He looked suddenly happy. "But I'm sure Gaius would thank you if you did that for both of us."

Merlin managed a weak smile, and nodded, resigned. "Right." He sneezed. "I'll take it back to Gaius's chambers then."

Geoffrey's tone was stern. "Oh no, young man. That book cannot be taken from the library."

Merlin sneezed again, he really didn't want to stay in the library with Geoffrey breathing over his shoulder. He dredged up his most guileless expression. "But Geoffrey ... Gaius really wants to see it. He's so busy, I'm sure he'd be very grateful if I could bring it to him so he could read it this evening."

"Hmm." Geoffrey frowned again and eyed him suspiciously, Merlin wondered if he reserved that look just for him, he certainly saw it on the librarian's face often enough. Geoffrey grunted disapprovingly, but said slowly, "Very well. Gaius did give me a rather expensive jar of cream for my gout last week at very little cost." Then he scowled threateningly. "Take the book then, but if it comes back damaged I'll be holding _you _responsible."

The book could hardly become more damaged than it already was, but Merlin left the thought unsaid. He mumbled his thanks and lugged the tome up to Gaius's chambers, and found his mentor serving out dinner for the two of them. He checked on the dragon egg and spoke to the baby again before putting her carefully back in her bowl of water beside his bed, she was sleepy and not inclined to talk.

"Ah, Merlin." Gaius placed a bowl of grapes in the middle of their table as Merlin sat down. "Arthur just sent a message, he won't want you tonight, he's dining with his father and two of the nobles. He'll be late. You're not required to serve either."

Merlin was thankful. He scratched his bandages and placed the ledger down beside his plate and began to pick at his food.

Gaius quirked an eyebrow. "And he said something about saving the bedtime story for tomorrow."

"He did?" Merlin quickly hid a smile but didn't answer the question on Gaius's face.

His mentor didn't pursue it, he poured them both a goblet of water, and sat down at the table. "But Arthur did say he expects you when dawn breaks tomorrow, he's going back to Shalford."

"Already?" Merlin was surprised. "It's a bit early. The merman's ultimatum is later. He didn't have to go for another few days." He yawned, now that he was sitting down again the general feeling of exhaustion was creeping back again, the sleep he'd had earlier had hardly helped.

"Leon sent word about something, Arthur wants to ride out to meet him. Now, what have you got there?" Gaius pointed to the book.

Merlin swallowed a grape. "I told you about the merman, that he said Uther had killed his daughter. I thought I'd find out what happened, what she was accused of, that sort of thing."

Gaius carved the ham and placed a generous serving on Merlin's plate. "Yes, I thought it a little unusual when you mentioned it. Mermaids are shapeshifters, and extremely good at concealing their true nature when they have to, more so than a merman. They look exactly like a female human when they choose to take on that form. And if caught, they can easily charm their way out of situations, they're sirens, their songs enchant."

Merlin nodded and opened the book but Gaius batted his hand away. "Save it for later, Merlin. Geoffrey will skin you alive if you get food on it."

They finished their meal in silence, and Gaius took a seat on the bench beside him when he'd cleared away their plates. "So what are we looking at?"

Merlin opened the book. "It's a record of executions. The merman said Uther had her executed at the last Feast of St Valentine's Festival."

Gaius shuffled some of the loose parchment around. "That's held only every seven years, and the last one was held almost that long ago."

"Yes, that's why I could narrow down the date. It's all I have to go on, I don't even know her name. But there'll be something, somewhere in here." Merlin pointed to the mess of papers and yawned again. "But that means she was executed years ago, why do you think the merman has waited so long to do anything?"

Gaius was thoughtful. "That's something to ponder, Merlin. But perhaps he only discovered it. Remember, the merman is not seen in this lake regularly, the last sighting of him was a decade ago now."

"But how would he have known his daughter was killed when he'd said she was?"

"If the villagers were aware of her, they may have told him what happened."

"But why wouldn't they have told us that, when we talked to them after the children were taken?" That didn't make sense to Merlin, the villagers wanted their children found, they would have given Arthur every clue they could think of.

Gaius admitted, "I do not know."

Merlin went back to the pile in front of him. There were hundreds of loose pages. He glanced sideways at Gaius, he knew a much quicker way of sorting them out. "Er, Gaius, just move back a moment."

The physician quirked an eyebrow at him but leant back obediently, and Merlin muttered a few words under his breath. The pages twirled up into the air and when they settled again they were in order.

"Merlin!" Gaius coughed, dust was whirling everywhere. He blinked and wiped his eyes and said disapprovingly, "Next time _tell me_ before you do something like that." He coughed again.

"Sorry." Merlin grinned at him, and muttered something else, his eyes glowed and the pages bound themselves to the spine of the book. "Much better."

Gaius shook his head. "And how are you going to explain that to Geoffrey?"

"Oh. Yeah." Merlin scratched his chin. "Maybe I'll take it off when we've read it."

"Maybe," Gaius said dryly. "Now, what can we find?"

They hunted through to the second month, when the Festival had been held. But there was nothing, not one record of magical beings captured, or executed. No records of new imprisonments of anyone except two men who'd been caught fighting to the death over the ownership of a chicken. There wasn't even any record of trials held or presided over by Uther after the third day of that month.

"This can't be right." Merlin was puzzled.

"He did say she was executed at the Festival?"

"Yes." Merlin was sure of it.

"Did your enchantment work properly? Are you sure you've put it in chronological order?"

"It worked, Gaius. That's an easy spell."

They looked at each other then Gaius held up a hand. "Wait. I think that month ... hold on." He stood up and walked across the room, going to the bookshelf and hunting through it. He picked up one of the books, flicked through it and put it down again, satisfied. "Yes, I thought so."

"What?" Merlin tipped his head up, watching.

"Uther wasn't in Camelot for most of February, Merlin. No trials were held. He was at a summit in Caerleon's kingdom for a few weeks. All the neighbouring kings went. I went with him, it was just before you came to Camelot."

Merlin was hopeful, perhaps there was an easy way to stop this creature if his daughter was unharmed. "So the merman's daughter may not have been executed by Uther? The merman was wrong?"

"Perhaps." Gaius added, "Or perhaps he got the date wrong."

Merlin sighed. He'd have to borrow more of these books. He just hoped the others were in better condition.

He scratched his bandaged hands again. It was going to be a long night.

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><p><em>AN: Review, pretty please? Or share my excitement and let me know if there's anything you want me to ask Colin tomorrow and I'll try and do so. SOOOOO EXCITED!_


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